' imM  H Crothers 


John  31.  Calhcart 

Logan,  Utah, 


f 


FORWARD  MISSION  STUDY  COURSES 


EDITED  UNDER  THE  DIRECTION  OF 
THE  YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 


KOREA  IN  TRANSITION 


N.  B. — Special  helps  and  denominational  mission 
study  literature  for  this  course  can  be  obtained  by 
corresponding  with  the  Secretary  of  your  mission  board 
or  society. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/koreaintransitio00gale_0 


Korea  in  Transition 


By 

JAMES  S.  GALE 

Twenty  Years  a Missionary  in  Korea 


LIBRARY  OF  PPINCETON 

JAN  1 0 2003 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 


NEW  YORK 

LAYMEN'S  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT 


Copyright,  1909,  by 

Young  People's  Missionary  Movement 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada 


TO  THE 

YOUNG  HEARTS  OF  AMERICA 
IN  BEHALF  OF 

THE  OLD  WORLD  OF  THE  EAST 


v 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAG* 

Editorial  Statement xi 

Preface xiii 

I  The  Land  and  the  People I 

II  The  Nation’s  Present  Situation 39 

III  The  Beliefs  of  the  People 65 

IV  Social  Life  and  Customs 93 

V  Special  Providences 125 

VI  Pioneer  Methods  of  Missionaries 159 

VII  The  Response  of  Korea 189 

VIII  Growth,  Present  Condition,  and  Outlook..  225 

APPENDIXES 

Appendix  A Division  of  Territory,  Population, 

Distribution  of  Missionaries 257 

Appendix  B Statistics  of  Protestant  Missions  in 

Korea 258 

Appendix  C Bibliography 260 

Index 363 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

FAG* 

Plowing 9 

Sawing  Timber 9 

Beating  Turnip  Seed  into  Meal 19 

Building  a House 19 

Prince  Min 37 

Marquis  Ito,  First  Resident  General  in  Korea. ...  37 

Moving  Dead  Body  Three  Years  after  Burial  by 

Order  of  Geomancers 69 

Ancestor  Worship 69 

Mourner 71 

Masked  Heroes  at  a Funeral  to  Chase  Away  Evil 

Spirits 71 

Royal  Tomb  and  Guardians 87 

Spirit  Posts 87 

Groom  Returning  with  His  Bride 104 

Bridal  Feast  after  the  Ceremony 104 

Group  of  Presbyterian  Missionaries  Itinerating...  131 

Itinerating 131 

Beginning  of  a School  for  Girls 143 

Korean  Teacher  with  Pupils 143 

Junldn  Memorial  Hospital,  Fusan 177 

Ivey  Hospital,  Songdo 177 

Severance  Hospital,  Seoul 181 

Divinity  Students 193 

College  Students 193 

Church  Built  by  Koreans 195 

Methodist  Church,  Wonsan 195 

Bible  Training  Institute,  Ping  yang 209 

Presbyterian  Church,  Ping  yang 209 

ix 


X 


Illustrations 


PAGE 

Members  of  Bible  Class,  Four  Walked  ioo  Miles 

to  Attend 213 

Upper  Class,  Ping  yang  Theological  School,  Ping 

yang 213 

Methodist  Church,  Seoul 229 

Christian  Men  Gathered  for  Two  Weeks’  Bible 

Study 231 

Methodist  Congregation,  Seoul 233 

Women’s  Bible  Institute 233 

Missionaries  and  Native  Workers 239 

Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  Building,  Seoul  239 

A Group  of  Korean  Leaders 247 

Colored  Map  of  Korea End 


EDITORIAL  STATEMENT 


According  to  the  rules  of  the  Young  Peo- 
ple’s Missionary  Movement,  the  Editorial  Com- 
mittee has  liberty  to  make  any  alterations  that 
it  may  consider  necessary  in  the  manuscripts 
submitted  to  it  for  publication.  In  making 
such  changes  it  is  customary  to  consult  with 
the  author.  The  absence  of  Dr.  Gale  in  Korea 
has  made  it  impossible  to  secure  from  his  pen 
a few  additions  that  were  found  desirable. 
These  have  been  made  exclusively  in  Chapters 
VII  and  VIII,  and  have  been  taken  mainly 
from  the  reports  of  other  missionaries.  These 
are  indicated  by  quotation  marks.  There  have 
also  been  some  rearrangement  of  material  and 
a few  elisions.  The  Committee  regrets  ear- 
nestly that  it  has  been  impossible  to  submit  all 
these  changes  to  Dr.  Gale  for  his  approval. 


PREFACE 


Korea  has  suddenly  emerged  from  the  un- 
■ known  into  the  widely  advertised  of  to-day. 
Politically  she  is  nil,  but  in  the  missionary 
circle  she  is  a first-rate  power.  Her  changes 
that  have  taken  place  externally  and  inter- 
nally during  the  last  quarter  of  a century  make 
one  of  the  startling  pages  in  history.  She 
was  nothing,  and  yet  she  set  in  motion  the 
most  colossal  war-campaign  of  modern  times. 
She  was  the  Hermit  till  she  was  hitched  to 
the  longest  railway  system  of  the  world.  But 
one  idea  possesses  her  leaders  now,  not  one 
of  politics,  nor  one  of  war,  nor  one  of  rail- 
way extension,  but  one  of  evangelization,  to 
win  Asia  for  Christ,  to  sound  the  call  to  all 
these  dusky  multitudes,  to  tell  them  of  Mar- 
coni messages  from  God,  to  say  peace  and 
good  cheer  to  the  downtrodden  millions  of 
Asia.  This  is  a large  idea  for  so  small  a 
people,  but  it  is  good.  Shall  we  not  be  in- 
terested in  it  too? 


xiii 


Seoul,  Korea. 


James  S.  Gale. 


THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE 


As  one  first  approaches  Korea,  especially  if  one  has  come 
from  the  fertile  and  verdant  terraced  bills  of  Japan,  the 
bleakness  and  barrenness  of  Korea’s  mountains  is  oppressive. 
Tradition  has  it  that  the  Korean,  in  his  desire  to  maintain 
his  independence,  deemed  that  he  could  do  it  best  by  a de- 
termined exclusion  of  all  outsiders,  and,  with  the  intention 
of  making  Korea  appear  desolate  and  unattractive,  he  pur- 
posely devastated  the  whole  coast.  Whether  there  is  truth 
in  this  or  not,  it  remains  a fact  that  the  seaward  coast  of 
almost  all  its  islands,  even  where  they  have  a southern 
exposure,  is  barren,  rugged,  and  desolate,  while  ofttimes 
the  northern  but  landward  side  is  well  cultivated,  woody, 
and  fertile,  and  that,  while  the  whole  coast-line  appears 
so  bleak  and  bare,  when  one  travels  in  the  interior,  one  is 
charmed  with  the  many  fertile  hills  and  valleys,  teeming 
with  grain  and  yielding  such  crops  that,  while  not  all  of 
the  arable  land  is  cultivated,  there  is  ample  for  Korea’s 
millions,  leaving  a large  balance  in  all  good  years  for  export. 

— Horace  G.  Underwood 

Her  resources  are  undeveloped,  not  exhausted.  Her  ca- 
pacities for  successful  agriculture  are  scarcely  exploited.  Her 
climate  is  superb,  her  rainfall  abundant,  and  her  soil  pro- 
ductive. Her  hills  and  valleys  contain  coal,  iron,  copper, 
lead,  and  gold.  The  fisheries  along  her  coast-line  of  1,740 
miles  might  be  a source  of  untold  wealth.  She  is  inhabited 
by  a hardy  and  hospitable  race,  and  she  has  no  beggar  class. 

— Isabella  Bird  Bishop 

The  climate  of  Korea  may  be  briefly  described  as  the 
same  as  that  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  United  States  between 
Maine  and  South  Carolina,  with  this  one  difference,  that 
the  prevailing  southeast  summer  wind  in  Korea  brings  the 
moisture  from  the  warm  ocean  current  that  strikes  Japan 
from  the  south,  and  precipitates  it  over  almost  the  whole 
of  Korea;  so  that  there  is  a distinct  “rainv  season"  during 
most  of  the  months  of  July  and  August.  This  rainy  season 
also  has  played  an  important  part  in  determining  Korean 
history. 

— Homer  B.  Hulberi 


I 

THE  LAND  AND  THE  PEOPLE 

Korea  lies  in  the  same  latitude  as  Boston, 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
Washington,  35  to  43  degrees  north  latitude. 
Its  location  is  on  the  eastern  rim  of  Asia,  look- 
ing southward.  At  its  back  is  Manchuria,  the 
barbarian  land;  on  its  right,  China  the  su- 
preme;  on  its  left,  Japan,  once  the  island 
savage;  round  about  it,  many  waters;  to  the 
east,  the  Sea  of  Japan  where  Russia’s  fleets 
still  lie  submerged;  to  the  west,  the  Yellow 
Sea,  touching  Port  Arthur,  Dalni,  Wei-hai- 
wei,  Chemulpo,  and  Tsing-tao;  to  the  south, 
the  China  Sea  with  its  typhoons  and  water 
“dragons.”1 

A journey  straight  south  from  Korea  would 
carry  you  past  the  east  side  of  the  Philippines, 
between  New  Guinea  and  the  Celebes,  and 
through  west  central  Australia.  North,  would 
take  you  over  Siberia  through  the  mouth  of 
the  Lena  into  the  Arctic  Ocean.  Going  due 

'Waterspouts  have  been  "sea-dragons”  to  the  Koreans 
since  time  immemorial. 


Location 


Relation  to 
Other  Countries 


4 


Korea  in  Transition 


l'he  Name 
Korea 


Size 


west,  you  would  see  Peking,  Kabul,  Teheran, 
Constantinople,  Rome,  New  York,  and  San 
Francisco.  An  elevator  shaft  sunk  right 
through  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  would 
come  out  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  distant  one 
hour  of  sun  time  from  New  York. 

Korea  is  a foreign  name,  learned  a hundred 
years  ago  from  China,  and  belonging  to  a 
defunct  dynasty  that  fell  in  1391  A.  D.  Like 
the  star  that  came  into  collision  and  was 
knocked  out  of  being  five  hundred  years  ago, 
whose  light  still  shines,  so  we  still  say  “Korea.” 
The  average  native,  however,  asks : “ ‘Korea  ?’ 
What  is  that?  Whom  do  you  refer  to?” 
Korea  has  had  many  names.  When  mission- 
ary work  first  began,  it  was  called  “Chosun” ; 
now  after  unimagined  changes  it  is  Han  Guk 
or  Han,  “The  Church  of  Han”,  “the  men  of 
Han”,  “the  golden  opportunity  in  the  land 
of  Han”,  and  similar  expressions. 

Roughly  speaking  Korea  is  600  miles  from 
north  to  south,  and  135  miles  from  east  to 
west,  with  an  area  of  about  80,000  square 
miles.  It  is  about  half  the  size  of  Japan,  one 
third  that  of  the  Province  of  Ontario,  twice 
that  of  the  state  of  Kentucky,  and  about  equal 
in  extent  to  Kansas. 


The  Land  and  the  People 


5 


Korea  is  divided  into  thirteen  provinces. 
Thirteen  is  an  unlucky  number,  and  since  this 
division  was  made  some  ten  years  ago  noth- 
ing but  a succession  of  misfortunes  has  fol- 
lowed. Still,  thirteen  is  associated  with  our 
Lord  and  his  disciples,  and  while  for  a time 
it  may  seem  to  spell  defeat  and  disaster,  in  the 
last  great  innings  thirteen  will  rise  triumphant, 
and  Korea,  we  trust,  will  be  joined  to  this 
number  forever  and  forever. 

Last  year  the  Financial  Adviser’s  Office  is- 
sued a note  concerning  the  population,  number 
of  houses,  and  like  items,  based  on  police  re- 
ports and  inspection.  According  to  these 
returns  the  province  of  Kyung  kui  has  a popu- 
lation of  869,000,  a half  of  whom  are  in  and 
about  the  city  of  Seoul.  The  most  densely 
peopled  district  is  south  Kyung  sang,  with  a 
population  of  1,270,214,  almost  equal  to  that 
of  Maryland.  The  total  of  these  returns,  how- 
ever, shows  a population  under  ten  millions. 
The  Japan  Year  Book  for  1907  considers  this 
figure  too  small,  and  suggests  14,000,000  as 
nearer  the  mark. 

Religion  ought  to  insure  correctness  in  a 
person’s  mathematics,  but  it  will  take  a genera- 
tion or  two  to  trim  off  the  East  and  bring  it 


Divisions 


Population 


Native  Use  of 
Large  Numbers 


6 


Korea  in  Transition 


Mountains 


to  anything  like  exactitude  in  dealing  with 
figures.  Chun-man  or  its  equivalent  is  one 
of  the  common  words,  “ten  thousand  times  a 
thousand”.  When  eight  hundred  people  meet 
together,  thousands  are  gathered;  and  fifteen 
means  several  score.  My  old  friend  Kim 
prays,  “God  bless  our  twenty  millions  of  a 
family.” 

“But,  Brother  Kim,  we  are  not  sure  that 
there  are  twenty  millions.  Fifteen  would  seem 
to  be  a wide  estimate,  the  census  returns  show 
even  less.” 

“Census  returns!”  echoes  Kim,  “Dear  me, 
as  if  we  did  not  know  our  own  family!  I 
chun  man  tong  po  (20,000,000,  brothers  and 
sisters).  Everybody  says  so.” 

Korea  has  a backbone  of  mountains,  that 
runs  irregularly  all  down  the  map.  From  the 
Tumen,  over  against  Vladivostok,  it  drops 
southwest  to  Wonsan,  then  southeast  to  the 
Kyung  sang  border,  and  from  there  south 
along  the  east  border  of  Chung  chong  and 
Chulla.  These  ridges  are  not  snowcapped  nor 
tall,  an  elevation  of  2,500  feet  being  a king 
among  them.  From  the  parent  range,  hills 
have  sprung  up  everywhere.  “ San  way  yu  san, 
san  pul  chin"  (“Over  the  mountains,  moun- 


The  Land  and  the  People 


7 


tains  still,  mountains  without  number”).  These 
hills  have  talked  to  the  people  for  hundreds 
of  years,  not  with  so  much  music  as  those  of 
Switzerland,  nor  awakening  so  patriotic  a re- 
sponse, but  they  have  talked  with  many  per- 
suasive voices.  Like  David,  the  Korean  too, 
at  times,  sees  his  hills  skip  and  dance,  and 
again  they  weep  with  him  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes.  So  much  is  said  of  mountains  in  Korea 
that  I mention  them  particularly.  They  live; 
in  old  days  their  spirits  walked  about  and  had 
their  being.  They  were  guardians  of  the  liv- 
ing and  watchers  over  the  dead. 

There  are  ten  rivers  in  Korea,  but,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Tumen,  none  on  the  east 
coast.  The  hills  there  come  up  so  close  to  the 
seashore  that  only  rivulets  are  possible.  The 
four  noted  rivers  are  the  Nak  Tong,  in  the 
south;  the  Han,  in  the  center;  the  Ta  Tong, 
past  Ping  yang;  and  the  Yalu,  in  the  north. 

The  soils  of  Korea  are  varied,  from  stiff 
clay  to  black  loam ; but  the  characteristic  soil  is 
rotten  granite,  a white,  gritty,  porous,  barren- 
looking earth,  in  which  nothing  would  seem 
to  grow.  If  you  dig  it,  and  inhale  the  ex- 
halations, you  will  develop  ague  till  your 
teeth  chatter,  your  bed  rattles,  and  your  whole 


Rivers 


Soil 


Grains 


Fruits 


■V- 


8 Korea  in  Transition 

being  vibrates.  If  you  walk  on  it,  it  will  grind 
down  the  soles  of  your  walking  shoes  in  a very 
short  time.  Seven  hundred  miles,  with  rotten 
granite  here  and  there,  once  completely  used 
up  two  pairs  of  shoes.  This  soil  is  like  the  soul 
of  the  Oriental,  it  gives  little  promise  of  any 
seed  taking  root,  but  once  get  the  roots 
fastened,  then  everything  grows  and  flourishes 
luxuriantly. 

No  grain  in  the  Western  world  stands  out 
preeminently  over  all  others  as  does  rice. 
Wheat  and  corn  have  to  do  with  huge  monop- 
olies, and  are  kings  in  finance,  but  rice  is  the 
imperial  majesty  of  the  cereal  world.  It  is 
the  prettiest  grain  grown.  More  people  eat 
rice  and  flourish  on  it  than  on  any  other  grain. 
Korea  is  a land  of  rice.  There  are  beans,  and 
lentils,  and  barley,  and  millet,  and  sesamum, 
and  what  not,  but  these  are  unseen  and  unmen- 
tioned in  the  glory  of  rice.  In  years  when 
rains  are  favorable,  waving  paddy-fields  speak 
the  praises  of  the  land  all  the  way  from  Fusan 
to  the  Yalu  and  the  Tumen. 

Fruits  grow  well  in  Korea,  coarse  pears, 
hard  peaches,  wild  apples,  tasteless  dates.  But 
every  fruit  failure  is  atoned  for  in  the  glorious 
autumn  of  persimmons.  “Korean  persimmons 


Plowing 


Copyright,  Underwood  & Underwood 


Sawing  Timber 


The  Land  and  the  People 


9 


are  the  finest  fruit  in  the  world,”  would  be 
the  verdict  of  many  who  have  had  the  widest 
experience  and  the  longest  time  to  judge. 

Where  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
smokes,  shall  we  not  mention  tobacco?  It 
too  is  a mighty  king,  although  it  was  not 
known  till  1645,  being  brought  in  at  that  time 
by  Prince  Chang-yu,  who  went  as  ambassador 
to  the  first  Manchu  emperor.  I quote  from  an 
Eastern  writer,  Esson  Third : “I  once  heard 
the  Hon.  W.  W.  Rockhill,  American  minister 
at  Peking,  say  that  Koreans  were  the  greatest 
smokers  in  the  world.  If  measured  by  the 
time  the  pipe  is  in  the  mouth,  they  certainly 
are,  but  if  it  be  a question  of  tobacco  consumed, 
the  Korean  may  very  easily  fall  behind  the 
Westerner.  He  is  a deliberate,  comfortable, 
unconscious  smoker,  so  apathetic  in  his  en- 
joyment of  the  long  pipe,  that  you  hardly 
know  whether  he  has  the  smoke  or  the  smoke 
has  him.  Cares  and  anxieties  are  whiffed 
away;  the  fumes  curl  through  his  soul  softly, 
benignly,  sleepily.  The  Westerner,  on  the 
other  hand,  pulls  fiercely,  chews  the  end,  swal- 
lows the  fumes,  and  takes  the  consequences, 
the  result  being,  that  in  one  half  hour  he  has 
consumed  more  tobacco  than  the  Korean  will 


Tobacco 


Minerals 


io  Korea  in  iransition 

in  a day.  To  even  matters  however,  Korean 
smoking  means  a united  pull,  men,  women, 
and  children  at  it  from  first  cockcrow  of  the 
morning  till  the  curfew  says  ‘Lights  out.’  It 
is  as  difficult  to  find  a man  who  does  not  smoke 
as  it  is  to  find  a ten-year-old  son  of  a gentle- 
man who  is  not  married.”  This  extended  ref- 
erence to  tobacco  is  by  no  means  out  of  propor- 
tion to  the  place  it  occupies  in  the  life  and 
habits  of  the  nation.  I notice  that  among 
Korean  Church  leaders  and  teachers  there  is 
a quiet  but  most  emphatic  putting  away  of  the 
pipe  and  all  that  goes  with  it.  It  is  one  of  the 
old  kings  whose  power  to  command  allegiance 
is  gone  forever. 

Korea  is  a land  supposedly  rich  in  minerals, 
such  as  gold,  silver,  copper,  iron,  coal,  and 
graphite,  but  because  of  the  sacred  character 
of  the  hills,  and  of  the  spirits  supposed  to  re- 
side within  them,  very  little  mining  has  been 
ventured  upon.  Now  however  the  audacious 
Westerner,  who  regards  neither  hill-gods  nor 
devils,  is  at  it  in  various  parts  of  the  land, 
blasting  the  rocks,  sinking  shafts  deep  into 
the  earth,  hauling  out  the  debris,  grinding  it 
to  powder,  extracting  the  gold  by  a magic 
spell  hitherto  undreamed  of.  Koreans  are  as- 


The  Land  and  the  People 


ii 


sociated  with  him  in  this  work;  they  see  and 
take  part  in  their  humble  way,  and  have  won 
the  name  of  the  best  miners  in  the  world  from 
managers  who  have  had  experience  in  Cali- 
fornia, Australia,  and  elsewhere.  One  of 
Korea’s  future  sources  of  great  wealth  is 
undoubtedly  mining,  but  seeing  that  it  is 
managed  and  owned  by  Americans,  English, 
and  Japanese,  the  Korean  will  come  in  for 
only  a modest  and  secondary  share  of  the 
profits. 

Money  is  called  ton,  and  while  Chinese  tones 
are  absent  from  our  problem  of  the  lan- 
guage, the  problem  of  ton  is  always  here. 
Two  words  wedded  together  are  wafted  on 
every  breeze  that  blows,  ton,  money,  and  pap, 
rice.  They  are  the  ultimate  to  which  all  hearts 
aspire  and  all  energies  seem  directed.  Twenty 
years  ago  Korean  money  was  the  cash  piece 
with  a hole  through  it.  It  took  six  horses  to 
carry  one  hundred  dollars,  and  pocket-money 
was  out  of  the  question.  While  the  old  cash 
is  still  seen  in  some  remote  comers  of  the  land, 
it  has  almost  entirely  vanished  into  the  for- 
gotten past,  its  place  taken  by  the  nickel,  that 
has  been  counterfeited  and  forged  and  smug- 
gled and  made  such  unlawful  use  of  that  its 


Money 


12 


Korea  in  Transition 


Transportation 


name  and  character  are  ruined  forever.  Money 
without  the  hole  in  the  middle  Koreans  call 
mang-jun  (blind  money),  and  so  they  nat- 
urally inquire,  “Will  a country  not  go  to  pieces 
that  uses  blind  money  ?”  We  still  use  the  nickel 
to  a limited  degree,  but  Japanese  currency  and 
a new  coinage  have  come  into  general  use — 
gold,  silver,  paper. 

In  America  transportation  has  been  from  the 
first  by  means  of  carts  and  wagons,  and  later 
by  railway,  but  in  Korea  it  has  been  and  still 
nearly  altogether  is  by  pack-bullock,  pony,  and 
coolie.  Animals  and  men  are  built  to  carry 
great  loads.  Every  beast  of  burden  is  keyed 
up  like  the  Brooklyn  Bridge  to  measure  its 
strength  by  the  middle  of  its  back.  The  coolie, 
again,  differs  from  the  strong  man  of  the  West 
in  that  his  arms  are  of  very  little  account,  little 
better  than  a sea-lion’s  flippers,  but  when  it 
comes  to  muscles  up  and  down  his  back,  he  is 
a marvel  of  strength  and  can  lift  500  pounds. 
On  these  patient  bodies  are  slowly  carried  over 
the  land,  rice,  beans,  hides,  timber,  fish,  salt, 
Bibles,  hymn-books,  evangelistic  literature,  and 
other  burdens,  cutting  deeper  and  deeper  into 
the  rock  and  rotten  granite  the  footmarks  of 
successive  generations. 


The  Land  and  the  People  13 

The  weather  in  Korea  is  blocked  out  in  great 
lots,  not  distributed  evenly  and  piece  by  piece 
as  at  home.  When  the  sun  shines  it  shines  for 
days  with  unclouded  sky,  one  month,  two 
months,  three  months,  with  scarce  a fleck  on 
the  horizon.  Toward  the  close  of  these  long 
spells,  the  very  earth  seems  to  cry  out  of  its 
thirsty  soul  for  water.  Then  the  rains  come; 
first  what  is  called  the  little  chang-ma  (great 
rain),  and  then  the  great  “great  rain.”  When 
this  is  fully  under  way,  it  comes  down  in 
double  spouts,  tin  cans,  and  buckets.  Percival 
Lowell  says:  “During  the  month  of  July  the 
sun  rarely  shines;  it  is  cloudy  almost  contin- 
ually and  nearly  every  day  it  rains.  It  stops 
raining  only  to  gather  force  to  rain  again,  and 
the  clouds  remain  the  while  to  signify  the  rain’s 
intention  to  return.”  Dr.  Underwood  says: 
“The  largest  rainfall  that  is  recorded  is  5 
inches  in  twenty-four  hours;  21.86  inches  for 
a rainy  season.  The  average  yearly  rainfall  is 
36  inches.”1 

Mortals  are  supposed  to  have,  directly  and 
indirectly,  an  influence  on  the  weather.  When 
the  electric  trolley-cars  were  first  set  running 
in  Seoul,  a peculiar  result  manifested  itself  in 


Weather 


Trolley-cars 
Blamed  for 
Drought 


xThe  Call  of  Korea,  26. 


14 


Korea  in  Transition 


Temperature 


the  life  of  the  nation.  We  quote  from  an  ac- 
count that  appeared  in  the  Outlook,  February, 
1902.  “Little  by  little  the  heavens  grew  dry 
and  the  earth  rolled  up  clouds  of  dust;  day 
followed  day  with  no  signs  of  rain,  and  the 
caking  paddy-fields  grinned  and  gaped.  What 
could  be  the  cause  of  it  ? The  geomancers  and 
ground-prophets  were  consulted,  and  their 
answer  was,  ‘The  devil  that  runs  the  thunder 
and  lightning  wagon  has  caused  the  drought.’ 
Eyes  no  longer  looked  with  curiosity  but  glared 
at  the  trolley-cars,  and  men  swore  under  their 
breath  and  cursed  the  ‘vile  beast’  as  it  went 
humming  by,  till,  worked  up  beyond  endurance, 
there  was  a crash  and  an  explosion,  one  car 
had  been  rolled  over,  and  another  was  set  on 
fire,  while  a mob  of  thousands  took  possession 
of  the  streets  foaming  and  stamping  like  wild 
beasts.”  This  was  all  on  account  of  the  ma- 
lign influence  which  these  American  electric 
cars  were  supposed  to  have  on  the  rainfall 
of  Korea! 

As  for  the  weather  and  temperature  in  gen- 
eral, taking  Seoul  as  our  representative  point, 
it  is  cold  in  winter  and  hot  in  summer.  Fre- 
quently the  temperature  falls  to  zero  and  even 
lower,  while  in  summer  with  a damp,  muggy 


The  Land  and  the  People  15 

atmosphere,  it  goes  up  to  86  or  90  degrees. 
This  constitutes  a kind  of  Turkish  bath  very 
trying  to  the  Westerner. 

To  hear  a missionary  physician  read  his  an- 
nual report,  and  line  off  the  list  of  diseases  that 
have  afflicted  Korea’s  unhappy  people  for  the 
space  of  one  year,  would  leave  one  to  infer  that 
the  only  missing  complaint  was  ‘housemaid’s 
knee’,  for  surely  everything  else  in  the  cata- 
logue from  leprosy  to  anthrax  is  present;  but 
this  is  only  nominally  so.  Actually  and  really 
we  see  only  a few  diseases  at  work.  First  and 
foremost  is  hak-jil,  ague.  Rare  indeed  is  the 
person  who  has  not  had  a periodic  chill;  as 
rare  as  the  man  who  does  not  smoke,  or  the 
man  who  cannot  sleep  comfortably  on  a hot 
floor  with  a wooden  block  behind  his  ear. 
Korea  is  a land  of  chills  and  fever.  There  is 
also  smallpox,  but  the  percentage  of  pitted  faces 
has  decreased  wonderfully  since  the  coming  in 
of  Jenner’s  great  preventive.  Typhus  fever  is 
heard  of  on  all  sides  at  certain  seasons  of  the 
year;  and,  following  close  on  the  summer, 
comes  Asiatic  cholera.  Consumption  is  com- 
mon to  all  the  land,  but  diseases  like  typhoid 
fever  and  appendicitis  seem  rare.  Scattered 
cases  of  leprosy  are  met  with,  and,  as  in  Judea 


1 6 


Korea  in  Transition 


in  old  days,  there  are  always  the  lame  and  the 
halt  and  the  blind. 

As  each  nation  has  its  peculiar  cut  of  dress, 
so  each  has  its  national  odors  apart  from  race 
odor.  Esson  Third  says : “The  Korean  gentle- 
man carries  about  with  him  two  odors  that  are 
specially  noticeable  to  a newcomer.  I once 
made  a journey  with  a Western  friend  who 
had  a somewhat  highly  keyed  sense  of  smell, 
and  I remember  his  stopping  short  on  the  road 
as  we  walked  along,  tapping  me  on  the  arm 
and  with  a long  sniff  saying: 

‘There  it  is  again.’ 

‘What  is  it  ?’  I asked. 

‘That  peculiar  smell,’  said  he. 

I sniffed  long  and  hard  but  there  was  noth- 
ing but  the  fresh  morning  breeze,  and  the  de- 
lightful odors  of  hill  and  field. 

‘I’ve  smelt  it  before,’  said  he,  ‘and  I’ll  tell 
you  later  when  I smell  it  again.’ 

He  tracked  that  odor  for  two  days,  and  then 
we  discovered  that  it  came  from  the  black  lac- 
quer hat.  The  odor  of  lacquer  is  one  of 
Korea’s  national  smells.  The  second  smell  is 
due  to  a mixture  of  garlic,  onions,  cabbage, 
salt,  fish,  and  other  ingredients,  that  make  up 
the  Korean  pickle  so  greatly  enjoyed  with  their 


The  Land  and  the  People  17 

rice.  This  odor  clings  like  that  of  Limburger 
cheese,  and  follows  the  native  to  church  and 
into  all  the  other  walks  of  life.” 

Compared  with  the  Western  world,  with  its  National  sound* 
indescribable  hubbub,  Korea  is  a land  of  the 
most  reposeful  silence.  There  are  no  harsh 
pavements  over  which  horses. are  tugging  their 
lives  out,  no  jostling  of  carts  or  dray-wagons, 
no  hateful  clamor  that  forbids  quiet  conversa- 
tion, but  a repose  that  is  inherent  and  eternally 
restful.  The  rattle  of  the  ironing-sticks  is  not 
nerve-racking,  but  rather  serves  as  a soporific 
to  put  all  the  world  to  sleep.  Apart  from  this, 
one  hears  nothing  but  the  few  calls  and  echoes 
of  human  voices.  What  a delightfully  quiet 
land  is  Korea ! In  the  very  heart  of  its  great 
city  Seoul,  you  might  experiment  at  midday  in 
the  latest  methods  of  rest-cure  and  have  all  the 
world  to  help  you. 

Among  other  restful  national  features  are  the  The  Road* 
roadways.  They  are  not  surveyed  at  right 
angles  and  fenced  in  with  barbed-wire,  but  are 
left  to  go  where  they  please,  do  as  they  like, 
and  take  care  of  themselves,  just  as  suits  them. 

Hence  a Korean  road  will  find  the  easiest  pos- 
sible way  over  a hill.  It  will  narrow  itself 
down  to  a few  inches  rather  than  pick  a quarrel 


General 


Houses 


1 8 Korea  in  Transition 

with  a rock  or  hummock  on  the  way,  or  again 
to  please  you  it  will  widen  out  like  a Western 
turnpike.  To  follow  a Korean  road  is  like 
reading  one  of  Barrie’s  novels,  you  meet  with 
surprises  and  delights  all  along  the  way. 

While  the  general  aspect  of  Korea  is  a sad 
and  desolate  one,  that  of  a mountainous  land 
shorn  bare  of  its  trees  and  foliage,  there  are 
pretty  vistas  and  views  that  break  out  occasion- 
ally from  behind  the  hills.  As  a people  Koreans 
thoroughly  enjoy  na  ural  beauty,  but  they  have 
taken  no  steps  whatever  to  conserve  it.  Trees 
and  grass  and  brushwood  and  flowering  shrubs, 
everything  in  fact  that  grows,  comes  under  the 
woodman’s  sickle,  and  is  shaved  bare  as  the 
locks  of  a Buddhist  priestess.  Around  the  cap- 
ital, especially,  the  hills  have  been  denuded  so 
often  that  the  rains  have  washed  away  the 
upper  soil  and  left  them  gray-topped  and  bare. 
There  is  a wide  field  for  the  work  of  forestry  in 
Korea. 

In  the  hidden  and  often  picturesque  nooks 
nestle  clusters  of  brown  huts  thatched  with 
straw.  In  and  out  of  these  mud  beehives  go 
people  dressed  in  immaculate  white.  A hut 
is  built  by  first  pounding  the  earth  for  the 
foundation-stones,  then  setting  up  the  posts 


A 

ll 


ipyrlght,  Underwood  * Underwood  Copyright,  Underwood  Jk  Underwood 

Beating  Turnip  Seed  into  Meal  Building  a House 


The  Land  and  the  People  19 

and  beams.  Between  the  posts  are  put  cross- 
bars and  bamboo  lathing,  then  mud  is  plastered 
on  the  inside  and  out.  It  is  not  just  common 
mud,  but  carefully  prepared  mud,  that  will  not 
crack  and  let  in  the  wind.  For  flooring,  flat 
stones  are  used,  placed  over  flues ; a thin  layer 
of  mud  covers  the  surface  and  makes  it  even. 

Then  the  whole  inside  is  papered  with  white 
paper  on  the  walls  and  thick  yellow  oil-paper 
on  the  floor.  The  windows  are  of  paper  also. 
When  the  fire  is  built  in  the  kitchen,  the  heated 
vapors  from  it  pass  underneath  the  living- 
rooms  ; the  stone  floors  warm  gently,  and  here, 
cross-legged,  you  take  up  your  abode. 

A friend  called  just  now,  and  I asked  him  Dress 
to  please  take  off  his  horsehair  hat  and  let  me 
weigh  it.  The  whole  hat,  crown,  brim,  border, 
string,  and  other  parts,  weighed  just  one  and 
a quarter  ounces.  How  light  and  ethereal  the 
Korean  garb  is,  especially  in  summer!  If  we 
follow  Mr.  Kim  from  the  crown  of  his  head 
to  the  tip  of  his  toe,  his  wearing-apparel 
would  run  thus : first,  the  ounce  and  a quarter 
hat;  then  the  inner  cap,  lighter  still;  then  the 
headband,  equally  light;  then  the  spectacles, 
the  long  outer  robe,  the  inner  coat,  the  rattan 
jacket,  worn  in  hot  weather  next  the  skin,  the 


20 


Korea  in  Transition 


pantaloons,  the  leggings,  the  socks,  the  shoes. 
The  material  is  cotton  goods  made  wide  and 
loose  and  roomy.  In  a dress  like  that  you  may 
sit  all  day  cross-legged  without  a suggestion 
of  bagging  at  the  knees,  perhaps  because  they 
are  all  bags,  and  wide  enough  to  accommodate 
the  wearer  two  or  three  times  over.  White  is 
the  prevailing  color,  but  bright  tints  and  hues 
are  interspersed,  especially  with  young  people, 
so  that  a school  yard  alive  at  recreation  hour 
looks  like  a fluttering  congregation  of  blue- 
birds, orioles,  and  robins.  The  belt,  or  girdle- 
string, binds  the  man  of  the  East  together,  just 
as  suspenders  serve  for  girders  and  mainstays 
for  the  man  at  home.  The  woman’s  dress  dif- 
fers somewhat  from  that  of  the  man,  but  white, 
loose,  baggy,  badly  gripped  and  held  in  place, 
unsuited  for  a busy,  dirty  world  such  as  this  is, 
would  apply  equally  to  both. 

The  Korean  is  a stranger  to  sweets,  and 
no  sugar-sticks  ever  tempted  the  children  of 
his  land.  Honey  is  used  in  small  quantities, 
but  chocolate  creams,  and  fudge,  and  sweet 
sodas  through  a straw,  and  ices,  he  never 
dreamed  of  even  in  connection  with  Nirvana. 
In  place  of  these  his  delights  have  been  of  the 
salt  and  peppery  kind.  He  has  chilli  sauce  and 


The  Land  and  the  People 


21 


chilli  soy,  salt  and  red  peppers  mixed  in  pickle, 
and  greens  and  soup.  The  average  foreigner 
who  tries  Korean  food  is  compelled  at  short 
intervals,  to  open  his  mouth,  draw  in  cool 
breaths,  and  fan  wildly.  The  tears  in  his  eyes 
and  his  general  look  of  agony  would  lead  one 
to  infer  that  he  had  been  dining  off  live  coals 
instead  of  plain  rice  and  cabbage  pickle,  and 
soup  and  beans  and  soy.  This  is  the  Korean 
average  meal  every  day  and  all  the  year  round. 

They  are  not  great  meat  eaters,  rice,  beans,  and 
cabbage  taking  the  place  of  meat,  potatoes,  and 
bread.  It  is  a very  monotonous  fare,  and  yet 
men  are  strong  in  the  strength  of  it  and  can 
work  like  horses  and  carry  enormous  loads. 

In  soul  the  Korean  is  the  son  of  a Chinaman,  L«ngu«g8 
but  in  language  he  is  related  to  Japan.  He 
can  sound  both  l and  r,  while  the  Japanese  has 
to  say  gay-roo  for  girl,  and  the  Chinaman  says 
Amellican  for  American.  The  Korean  stands 
between  them  not  in  heart  and  geographical 
position  only,  but  in  a still  greater  sense,  we 
trust,  that  will  be  manifest  in  days  to  come. 

Korean  is  a simple  speech,  unartificialized  by 
a fixed  set  of  rules  and  a printed  literature  like 
our  own.  It  belongs  to  Gospel  times,  for  while 
it  labors  hard  to  express  Romans  and  Gala- 


22 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  Complete 
but  Changing 
Picture 


tians,  the  Gospels  speak  forth  from  it  beauti- 
fully. While  expressing  the  simplicities  of 
life  most  appropriately,  it  is  a hard  language 
to  learn  with  its  honorifics  and  Chinese  de- 
rivatives. 

Will  the  reader  then  please  enter  into  this  in- 
troductory picture  of  Korea,  joining  compan- 
ionship with  these  millions  dressed  in  their  odd 
garments,  moving  about  in  cities,  among  the 
mountains,  and  between  the  waving  rice-fields, 
blessed  with  the  sunshine  and  the  rain,  sorrow- 
ing, suffering,  ignorant  of  time,  ignorant  of 
eternity,  dying  off  one  generation  after  an- 
other, each  smoking  its  pipe  of  self-satisfaction, 
dreaming  that  it  was  rich  and  increased  in 
goods  and  had  need  of  nothing,  speaking  no 
end  of  salutation,  peace,  peace,  when  there  was 
no  peace?  On  this  procession  has  wended, 
till  twenty  years  and  more  ago,  when  there 
struck  an  hour  on  the  clock  that  marks  off 
the  ages,  and  the  gates  of  the  Hermit  swung 
wide  open,  and  in  stepped  forces  that  have 
since  been  mingling  mightily  with  what  has 
been  touched  on  in  the  opening  paragraphs. 
All  things  are  changing  so  rapidly,  so  radically, 
that  we  wonder  whither  we  are  going.  To 
this  quiet,  unsophisticated  people  have  come  no 


The  Land  and  the  People  23 

end  of  wild  surprise  and  political  upheaval, 
unutterable  despair  and  blind  suicide. 

But  in  the  midst  of  this  crashing  and  break-  v*lce* 

ing  up  of  every  ideal  come  callers  not  dreamed 
of  before.  One  is  Peter.  He  says : “Are  you 
a low-caste  man?  So  was  I.  Are  you  dead 
beat?  So  was  I.  Do  you  long  for  victory? 

So  did  I.  One  name  solved  all  my  troubles, 
just  one  name,  let  me  whisper  it  to  you,  ‘Jesus, 

Jesus,  Jesus so  the  vibrations  carry  it  as  by 
wireless  telegraphy  from  Peter’s  lips  to  the 
farthest  limits  of  the  land.” 

Another  preacher  follows,  hard  to  under-  PauI 
stand.  Paul  is  his  name.  He  asks : “Are  you 
an  aristocrat  and  a scholar?  God  has  no  use 
for  aristocrats.  He  wants  sinners,  the  un- 
thankful, the  unholy.  Which  class  do  you  be- 
long to?  Stricken  from  off  my  exalted  seat, 
down  in  the  dust  I first  recognized  him.  Shut 
your  eyes  to  the  world,  get  into  Straight  street, 
and  try  prayer.” 

Another  preacher  is  Jesus’  mother.  Mary  Mary 
says : “So  many  people  were  round  about  him 
I could  not  get  near.  All  I wanted  was  just 
to  see  Jesus.  His  answer  was : ‘Who  wants 
me?  My  mother?  Why  all  you  Korean  peo- 
ple need  to  see  me  just  as  badly  as  my  mother 


24 


Korea  in  Transition 


Factors  of 
Her  Destiny 


does.  Look  on  me  as  she  does  with  love,  and 
you’ll  be  my  mother,  and  sister,  and  brother.’  ” 
Korea’s  heart  beats  one  with  China.  The 
chords  struck  across  the  Yalu  find  response 
here.  She  is  under  Japan  tighter  than  lock 
and  key  can  make  her.  Has  God  a purpose 
for  the  Far  East  with  his  hand  upon  her,  and 
she  between  these  two  mighty  questions  of  the 
world,  China  and  Japan? 


SUGGESTIONS  FOR  USING  THE  QUESTIONS 

The  questions  below,  as  their  title  indicates,  are  in- 
tended to  be  suggestive.  They  make  no  pretense  to 
review  the  contents  of  each  chapter.  Such  a memory 
test  can  easily  be  constructed  by  any  leader  or  student 
by  writing  out  the  contents  of  the  chapter  and  then 
expanding  them  without  the  aid  of  the  text.  The 
present  questions  are  intended  to  stimulate  original 
thought,  and  they  therefore  use  the  text-book  only  as 
a point  of  departure. 

Leaders  may  find  it  profitable  to  assign  some  of  these 
questions  in  advance  for  study  and  discussion.  It  will 
usually  be  better  to  discuss  a few  questions  thoroughly, 
rather  than  to  try  to  cover  the  entire  set.  In  many 
cases  the  leader  can  fit  them  better  to  the  use  of  a par- 
ticular class  by  careful  rewording. 

If  they  are  used  in  private  study,  it  is  recommended 
that  conclusions  be  written  out.  It  is  not  expected  that 
the  average  student  will  be  able  to  answer  all  these 
questions  satisfactorily;  otherwise  there  would  be  little 
left  for  the  class  session.  Let  results,  however  frag- 


The  Land  and  the  People  25 

mentary,  be  brought  to  the  class  and  supplemented 
by  comparison  and  discussion. 

The  questions  marked  * are  perhaps  most  worth 
discussing  in  detail. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  I 

Aim:  To  Come  into  Sympathy  with  the  Land  and 

People 

I.  Space  and  Time  Distances. 

1.  Compare  the  area  and  population  of  Korea 
with  that  of  the  State  or  Province  in  which 
you  live. 

2.  How  does  it  contrast  in  area  and  population 
with  the  combined  States  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania? 

3.  How  large  would  the  States  of  New  York  and 
Pennsylvania  seem  to  you  if  we  had  only  the 
Korean  means  of  intercommunication? 

4.  How  far  do  you  think  you  would  have  traveled 
from  home  under  such  circumstances? 

5.  About  how  long  would  it  take  you  to  go  from 
Boston  to  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  a pony,  if 
the  roads  were  bad? 

6. *  Try  to  estimate  the  relative  size  of  Korea  and 

the  United  States  measured  by  the  time  con- 
sumed in  travel. 

7.  Try  to  imagine  what  your  life  would  be  like 
if  you  were  entirely  cut  off  from  modern 
means  of  transportation. 

II.  Influence  of  Environment  on  Character. 

8.  What  sort  of  climate  would  you  choose  for  a 
nation  in  order  that  its  inhabitants  might  de- 
velop the  strongest  character? 


26 


Korea  in  Transition 


9.  Find  on  a map  of  North  America  points  which 
approximate  the  latitude  of  the  northern  and 
southern  limits  of  Korea. 

10.  What  are  the  relative  advantages  of  a nation 
of  extended  latitude  and  extended  longitude? 

11. *  Try  to  discover  some  of  the  influences  that 

have  made  the  Koreans  inexact  in  their  mental 
processes. 

12.  What  do  the  comparative  methods  of  smoking 
reveal  to  you  of  Korean  and  Western  char- 
acter? 

13.  What  advantages  will  Korea  derive  in  the 
future  from  her  comparatively  compact  area? 

14. *  What  things  in  the  physical  features  of  Korea 

give  you  most  hope  for  the  future? 

III.  The  Inevitable  Changes. 

15. *  If  Korea  were  made  over  to  you  as  a gift, 

what  measures  would  you  take  to  improve 
your  property?  Name  in  order  of  their 
importance. 

16. *  Describe  what  you  think  would  be  the  effect 

of  each  of  these  physical  improvements  on 
the  life  of  the  people. 

17.  To  what  extent  are  these  changes  inevitable 
in  Korea? 

18.  What  would  be  the  probable  effect  upon  an 
ignorant  country  boy  without  principles  of 
being  suddenly  thrust  into  city  life? 

19. *  In  what  ways  does  this  example  illustrate  the 

present  position  of  Korea? 

20.  What  would  be  the  effect  of  Western  civiliza- 
tion upon  a primitive  people  without  the  con- 
straint of  Christianity? 

21.  For  what  reasons  do  you  think  this  land  de- 
serves the  sympathy  of  the  Christian  Church? 


The  Land  and  the  People 


27 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  I 


I.  Resources. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  I,  pp.  274, 
275- 

Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  14-18,  391, 
392,  445- 

Underwood:  The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  23-33. 

Gifford:  Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  pp.  20-22. 
Noble:  Ewa:  A Tale  of  Korea,  pp.  11-13. 

II.  Transportation. 

Hulbert : The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XVIII. 
Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  p.  128. 

III.  Recent  Improvements. 

Hulbert : The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XXXIV. 
Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  435-443. 


THE  NATION’S  PRESENT 
SITUATION 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

It  seems  best,  as  Dr.  Gale  has  done,  to  avoid  a discussion 
of  the  causes  leading  to  the  Japanese  control  of  Korea.  On 
this  subject  bitter  charges  and  countercharges  have  been 
made,  and  the  complete  truth  is  not  easy  to  discover.  A brief 
table  is  given,  however,  to  indicate  the  principal  political 
events  since  1876: 

1876.  First  foreign  treaty  of  Korea  with  Japan. 

1883.  First  treaties  with  the  United  States,  Germany,  and 
Great  Britain.  First  American  minister  to  Korea. 
1885.  China  and  Japan  sign  ccnvention  agreeing  not  to  send 
troops  into  Korea  without  previous  consultation. 
Chinese  influence  dominant. 

1894.  China  sends  troops  into  Korea  to  repress  Tong-hak 
rebellion.  This  leads  to  war  between  China  and 
Japan.  Japanese  influence  dominant. 

1893.  Queen  of  Korea  assassinated  by  Japanese  and  Koreans- 
1896.  King  takes  refuge  in  Russian  legation  in  Seoul.  Rus- 
sian influence  dominant. 

1898.  Japan  and  Russia  agree  to  recognize  the  independence 
of  Korea  and  to  abstain  from  interference. 

1904.  Russia’s  encroachments  lead  to  war  with  Japan.  Korea 
agrees  to  accept  the  advice  of  Japan  as  to  adminis- 
tration, and  Japan  guarantees  the  independence  of 
Korea.  Virtual  Japanese  protectorate. 


1907.  Emperor  of  Korea  forced  to  abdicate  in  favor  of  the 
Crown  Prince.  The  Resident-General  in  complete 
. control. 


In  general  it  may  be  said  that  Japan  has  assumed  control 
of  Korea  in  order  to  exclude  any  further  possibility  of  Rus- 
sian intrigue,  to  which  the  Korean  government  had  always 
been  susceptible.  The  administration  initiated  by  Marquis 
Ito  is  undoubtedly  far  more  efficient  and  modern  than  that 
which  it  displaced.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  claimed  that  the 
Koreans  have  suffered  many  abuses  at  the  hands  of  the 
Japanese  soldiers  and  settlers. 


3® 


II 

THE  NATION’S  PRESENT  SITUATION 


Over  the  hill  from  my  home,  in  a little  house  Su'nam 
with  tiled  roof,  lives  a widow,  Mrs.  Shin.  Her 
family  consists  of  mother-in-law,  son  seven- 
teen years  of  age,  long  waited  for,  now  a man, 
daughter  fourteen,  and  Samuel  her  youngest, 
aged  four.  It  did  not  attract  much  attention 
from  the  outside  world,  this  home,  but  it  was 
everything  to  the  humble  inhabitants  thereof. 

Su-nam,  the  tall  son,  was  the  new,  strong  flag- 
staff around  which  age  and  tender  years  ral- 
lied. Through  many  seasons  of  hardship  and 
sorrow,  this  home  had  come  to  commit  its  way 
to  God,  to  trust  also  in  him,  knowing  that  he 
would  bring  it  to  pass.  True  Christians  they 
were  and  Su-nam  was  their  hope  and  joy. 

He  was  on  a visit  to  Ping  yang  when  yes-  sorrow-*  um« 
terday  (July  27),  between  the  torrents  of  fall- 
ing rain,  there  came  a telegram  to  me  saying. 

“Su-nam  drowned.”  What  a dire  stroke  for 
that  poor  home  in  two  short  words,  a double- 
edged  sword  cutting  to  the  hilt  through  the 


For  introductory  material  to  this  chapter  see  opposite  page. 

3* 


I vorea's 
Desolation 


32  Korea  in  Transition 

center  of  the  soul ! With  this  information  in 
hand  I crossed  the  hill  to  Mrs.  Shin’s  house. 
They  were  at  evening  meal  in  the  little  veranda 
round  a very  small  table.  With  smiles  they 
greeted  my  coming,  for  I was  their  friend,  and 
would  bring  good  cheer  and  hope.  What 
cruelty ! I was  to  turn  all  these  smiles  into  an 
agony  of  woe  unspeakable.  “Alas,”  I said,  “I 
have  news,  such  news  as  will  break  your  hearts, 
God  help  us  all!”  Every  face  instantly  fixed 
itself  into  an  expression  of  pained  suspense, 
and  I went  on,  “God  has  called  Su-nam.  He  is 
drowned-”  The  little  girl  of  fourteen,  as  if 
shot  with  a rifle  bullet,  broke  into  a cry  that 
would  melt  the  soul ; the  mother  dropped  on 
her  face  but  no  word  passed  her  lips;  the  old 
grandmother,  whose  hopes  were  on  this  boy, 
lifted  up  her  heart  to  heaven  and  said,  “We 
thank  thee,  O Father.  Thou  didst  give  Su- 
nam;  thou  hast  taken  Su-nam;  blessed  be  thy 
name.” 

Multiply  this  heart-breaking  scene  to  a 
family  of  fifteen  millions,  and  make  their  little 
table  this  desolated  peninsula,  and  you  will 
have  some  idea  of  what  Korea  has  passed 
through  in  the  last  few  sad  years.  Indescrib- 
able is  the  wailing  that  has  gone  up  and  beating 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  33 


of  the  breast  over  the  death  and  burial  of  hopes, 
aspirations,  and  long-cherished  desires. 

Korea’s  was  a patriarchal  form  of  govern- 
ment from  the  beginning.  Officials  were  often 
still  but  callow  youths,  but  by  reason  of  office 
they  were  magnified  and  glorified  into  mature 
age  with  beard  and  rod  of  authority.  The  peo- 
ple at  large  were  their  children,  whom  they 
fathered,  arrested,  beat,  stood  in  a corner,  kept 
in  after  school,  or  set  digging  weeds,  just  as 
they  saw  fit,  and  no  reply  would  be  forthcom- 
ing, except  perhaps  a wail  open-mouthed  and 
loud  such  as  children  break  out  with,  but  with 
a voice  fifty  or  sixty  years  of  age. 

Under  this  system  the  people  individually 
were  nothing,  and  they  were  reasonably  con- 
tent to  be  so,  provided  their  ancient  customs 
continued.  They  were  oppressed  and  down- 
trodden, but  it  was  oppression  dealt  out  accord- 
ing to  custom,  and  custom  is  higher  than  law. 
This  was  their  country  and  they  were  free  to 
love  or  kill  each  other  with  no  foreigner  to 
interfere.  To  them  patriotism  consisted  in 
minding  your  own  business,  and  keeping  clear 
of  the  official’s  long-handled  paddle,  but  on  the 
opening  of  the  gates  and  the  inrush  of  Western 
life  all  is  changed.  Now  Korea  must  awake 


The  Way  that 
Failed 


Misrule 


34 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  Retired 
Emperor 


and  adjust  herself  to  a new  age,  or  the  age 
would  roll  over  and  crush  her  forever.  For 
twenty  years  Korea  had  a chance  to  get  into 
line  with  these  new  forces,  but  it  was  not  to  be. 
It  was  a question  of  life  and  death,  but  she  was 
not  able.  Many  saw  it,  many  spoke  thereof. 

As  great  father  for  the  land  was  the  deposed 
emperor,  chosen  of  God  to  bring  his  people  to 
a state  of  wo  unexampled,  under  which  how- 
ever we  believe  there  lie  hidden  hopes  higher 
than  she  has  ever  dreamed  of.  The  emperor 
could  say  as  Louis  XIV  did,  “L’etat  c’est  moi” 
(“The  state,  I am  the  state”),  though  he  forgot 
that  he  was  not  the  twentieth  century,  and 
forgot  other  outside  forces  as  well.  His  walk 
was  backward.  Kings  of  the  Orient  until  recent 
years  have  favored  the  rearward  march  in  their 
movings,  or  else  their  eyes  have  been  hope- 
lessly fixed  in  the  back  of  the  head;  for  with 
fixed  gaze  on  Yo-sun  (2300  B.  C.),  they  have 
backed  up  into  all  sorts  of  confusion,  never 
seeing  where  they  were  going  until  too  late, 
dreaming  only  of  the  past  from  which  they 
had  emerged,  no  progress  ever  contemplated, 
no  reform  undertaken  lest  it  detract  from  the 
glory  of  Yo  and  Sun  the  king-gods  of  the 
Golden  Age.  The  retired  emperor  was  un- 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  35 

doubtedly  an  instrument  used  of  God  to  humble 
his  own  land.  It  was  impossible  to  bring  him 
into  touch  with  any  new  era.  He  was  kind  and 
gentle  and  often  full  of  compassion,  but  a sug- 
gestion of  reform  would  rouse  the  demon  with- 
in him,  and  he  would  clap  thumbscrew  and  tor- 
ture rack  onto  the  friend  of  yesterday  and  have 
him  drawn  and  quartered  forthwith.  During 
the  twenty  years  that  he  was  on  trial  for  his 
life,  he  failed  at  every  point.  This  is  the  first 
thing  to  remember  in  considering  the  position 
of  Korea  to-day  politically.  She  was  brought 
to  it  by  the  retired  emperor  being  out  of  touch 
with  the  age  he  lived  in. 

There  was  another  factor  to  be  reckoned  Japan 
with,  namely,  Japan;  and  the  retired  emperor 
and  his  people  both  emphatically  disliked  Japan. 

From  earliest  times  they  had  marked  her  by 
abusive  terms  Wa-ro  (slaves  of  Wa),  To-man 
(island  savages),  Wai-nom  (foreign  knaves) ; 
while  Japan  spoke  of  Koreans  as  Han-kcik 
(honored  guests  of  Han).  Nothing  could 
bring  them  together.  Religion  ? The  Japanese 
prayed  to  Buddha  and  the  Shinto  gods,  while 
Korea  was  Confucian.  Japan  exalted  the 
sword,  and  Korea  despised  her,  for  she  herself 
worshiped  the  pen. 


Korea’s  Day 
of  Reckoning 


Opposing 

Factors 


36  Korea  in  Transition 

Korea  through  its  ruler  was  out  of  touch 
with  the  age  in  which  it  lived;  in  heart,  sym- 
pathy, and  tradition  it  was  out  of  touch  with 
the  Japanese,  and  yet  here  were  these  three 
gradually  coming  to  occupy  the  same  room, 
and  the  same  bed,  at  the  same  time : the  twen- 
tieth century,  the  Korean  emperor,  and  the 
spirit  of  Japan;  unsuited  as  fire  and  water,  or 
wood  and  lightning,  destined  to  kick  and  smash 
and  resist  until  one  of  them  was  reduced  to 
hopeless  and  non-resisting  silence. 

The  emperor  too  and  his  people  were  not  at 
one.  Esson  Third  wrote  some  years  ago : “The 
Korean  emperor  has  no  confidence  in  his  peo- 
ple, and  his  people  have  no  use  for  the  Japan- 
ese, and  the  Japanese  have  no  faith  in  the 
emperor.  Reverse  it  and  it  is  still  correct.  The 
emperor  mistrusts  the  Japanese,  the  Japanese 
have  no  confidence  in  the  people,  and  the  peo- 
ple despise  the  emperor.”  Reform  was  stamped 
out.  The  best  and  most  enlightened  men  were 
shut  up  in  prison.  It  was  a fight  on  the  part  of 
the  old  emperor,  single-handed,  against  his  own 
people,  against  the  onrolling  centuries,  with 
the  Japanese  accompanying,  keeping  pace  and 
persistently  shouting  “Banzai”  (long  live  our 
emperor). 


Copyright,  Underwood  & Underwood  Copyright,  Underwood  & Underwood 

Prince  Min  Marquis  Ito,  First  Resident  General  in  Korea 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  37 


Then  it  was  that  men’s  hearts  began  to  fear 
and  to  turn  toward  Christianity.  Wiser  ones 
said,  “All  the  forces  of  the  universe  are  bear- 
ing down  upon  us;  unless  God  help  we  are 
lost.”  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  awakening 
in  the  Korean’s  soul  to  the  helpless  condition 
of  his  country.  Once,  on  a call  at  his  home, 
Prince  Min  said  to  the  writer,  “Pray  for  Korea. 
God  can  help  us  if  no  one  else  can.”  Eyes  that 
never  looked  heavenward  before  did  so  now  in 
view  of  uncertainties. 

The  emperor,  by  his  old  “underground” 
methods,  was  in  touch  with  Russia,  anxious  for 
her  belated  civilization,  if  he  could  not  hold  on 
to  2000  B.  C.,  but  every  move  turned  against 
him,  everything  was  out  of  gear.  On  Novem- 
ber 17,  1905,  in  the  dead  of  night,  at  the 
Palace  in  Chung  dong,  Seoul,  the  first  pay- 
ment was  made  for  all  the  mistaken  years,  the 
wrongs  done  and  suffered,  and  the  lies  told 
and  unrepented  of.  It  was  made  by  the  sign- 
ing of  the  treaty  of  that  date,  giving  over  to 
the  Japanese  government  the  control  of  Korea’s 
foreign  affairs.  On  receipt  of  this  news,  Prince 
Min  concluded  that  his  country  was  gone  and 
that  he  would  die  with  it.  He  locked  himself 
away  from  all  his  friends,  wrote  out  his  will. 


Looking  Toward 
Christianity 


First  Retributive 
Results 


38 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  Final  Crisis 


and  a few  farewell  letters,  and  then  with  a 
dull,  short  pocket-knife  accomplished  his  own 
quietus.  Written  large  round  his  name,  Korea 
will  ever  read  the  sentence,  “Sweet  and  seemly 
is  it  to  die  for  one’s  fatherland.” 

Again  in  July,  1907,  another  crisis  was 
reached.  The  nation  that  had  so  long  at- 
tempted to  sail  in  a leaky  boat,  and  had  per- 
sistently clubbed  any  man  who  had  tried  to 
stop  the  chinks,  was  going  down.  The  water 
was  deep  and  all  straws  were  caught  at,  Russia, 
The  Hague,  Mr.  Hulbert,  Hawaiian  Petition, 
Bethell  and  Company,  appeal  to  rifles;  but 
everything  failed.  The  Japan-Korea  Treaty 
of  July  24,  1907,  resulted,  and  the  last  act  of 
the  drama  was  the  exit  of  the  old  emperor-king. 
He  was  asked  to  move  out  and  make  way  for 
oncoming  generations,  to  sign  away  all  rights 
as  emperor,  king,  autocrat;  to  abdicate  once 
and  for  all.  The  wildest  cry  was  of  no  avail. 
There  was  no  resisting;  force  sufficient  was 
back  of  the  order  to  project  him  into  eternity, 
and  so  he  bowed  to  the  inevitable.  According 
to  the  understanding  of  the  people  at  large, 
the  last  breath  was  drawn,  and  Korea  had 
expired. 

A mad  sort  of  spurious  patriotism  started 


The  Aftermath 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  39 

into  being,  with  suicide,  chopping  off  of  fingers, 
sworn  oaths,  guerilla  warfare,  flint-lock  re- 
sistance. It  still  goes  on  to  a considerable  de- 
gree, while  the  poor  people  in  the  valleys, 
caught  between  the  contending  forces,  have  to 
pay  the  price  of  Korea’s  past  failure.  With 
the  question  as  to  how  in  other  ways  she  came 
to  such  a pass  as  this,  as  to  where  the  right 
and  wrong  of  it  lay,  as  to  what  ought  to  have 
been  done  and  what  ought  not  to  have  been 
done,  it  is  not  in  our  province  to  deal.  Here 
she  is  to-day.  If  it  had  not  been  the  Japanese, 
certainly  the  twentieth  century  single-handed 
would  have  crushed  the  old  emperor  and  all 
he  represented  out  of  existence.  Evidently  the 
purpose  in  this  plan  of  God  was  to  bring  Korea 
to  a place  where  she  would  say.  “All  is  lost, 

I am  undone.”  Like  Mrs.  Shin  and  her  house- 
hold, nothing  remained  for  the  people  but  to 
commit  the  whole  burden  of  it  to  the  Lord 
himself. 

First  and  foremost  they  had  lost  their  coun-  booking  foi  a 

J Country 

try.  There  have  been  men  who  have  had  no 
citizenship,  and  who  have  passed  the  pilgrim- 
age of  life  without  flag  or  nationality,  unpro- 
tected by  state  or  consular  arm  of  the  law,  but 
most  people  would  feel  unhappy  under  such  cir- 


40 


Korea  in  Transition 


John 

Chinaman’s 
Country  in 
Heaven 


cumstances.  Even  Paul  emphatically  made 
announcement  of  the  fact  that  he  was  a Roman 
citizen,  and  as  good  a man  as  Dr.  Guido  F.  Ver- 
beck  knocked  at  the  state  entrance  of  Japan, 
requesting  that  they  please  take  him  in,  as  he 
and  his  family  were  without  country  and  felt 
shelterless. 

Still,  there  are  those  who  overcome  such 
sentiments  and  walk  the  earth  victoriously.  A 
Chinese  lived  in  Yokohama  some  twelve  years 
ago.  He  was  a house-painter  by  occupation, 
and  went  about  wearing  a very  much  bedaubed 
suit  of  clothes,  caked  here  and  there  with  white 
and  green  and  yellow.  He  was  a Christian  and 
attended  church  regularly.  When  the  leader 
said,  “Let  any  one  pray  who  will,”  John 
never  failed  to  take  part.  The  gladness  of 
his  soul  spoke  itself  forth  in  a kind  of  Can- 
tonned  Japanese,  the  full  meaning  of  which 
was  known  to  himself  and  God  only.  When 
the  Shinasan  (Mr.  Chinaman)  prayed,  many 
a face  in  the  room  became  w’reathed  in  smiles 
and  sometimes  a hand  was  necessary  over  the 
mouth  to  help  hold  the  hearer  steady.  John 
paid  no  attention,  he  cared  not  who  laughed  at 
his  prayers,  he  wras  happy,  God  had  forgiven 
him  and  though  a Chinese,  he  had  said  good- 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  41 


by  to  the  world,  and  cut  his  cue  off.  One  day 
a Korean  friend  met  him  and  said,  “Honorable 
sir  from  the  great  country,  where  is  your  cue?” 
“Cue?  Cue  belong  no  good,  makee  cut  off.” 
“But  you  will  not  dare  to  go  home,  you  have 
lost  your  country.”  “Maskee  country,”  said 
John,  “my  country  belong  Htien-kuoa,  Htien- 
kuoa”  (“Heaven,  Heaven”),  pointing  upward. 

Could  we  but  convey  John’s  upward  look 
and  happy  spirit  to  the  hearts  and  homes  of 
Korea,  we  should  have  done  the  work  for 
which  all  this  agony  of  sweat  and  blood  has 
prepared  the  way.  The  Korean  says : “I  have 
no  country,  no  citizenship,  no  flag,  no  land 
that  is  my  own,  only  the  skeleton  and  remains. 
They  are  worse  than  nothing,  ghastly,  ought  to 
be  buried  out  of  sight,”  and  the  hoplessness 
of  a worldly  man  with  none  of  the  world’s 
backing  settles  over  him.  He  did  not  know 
that  his  country  was  worth  anything  till  he  lost 
it.  He  abused  it  and  disgraced  it  for  genera- 
tions, still  it  was  his;  now  it  is  dead,  and  no 
man  is  on  hand  to  raise  the  dead  to  life. 

In  former  days  when  the  state  threatened 
collapse  there  were  supports  available.  Rus- 
sia served  at  times,  then  France,  sometimes 
China  or  England.  Says  friend  Kim : 


Hope  for  the 
Hopeless 


Human  Failure. 

Divine 

Faithfulness 


42 


Korea  in  Transition 


Like 

rale 


“America  we  were  sure  of,  for  the  first  article 
in  our  treaty  with  her  read,  ‘If  other  powers 
deal  unjustly  with  either  government,  the  one 
will  exert  its  good  offices,  on  being  informed 
of  the  case,  to  bring  about  an  amicable  ar- 
rangement, thus  showing  its  friendly  feel- 
ings.’ England  joined  the  enemy,  and  even 
America  went  back  on  us.  Verbeck  may  have 
found  a door  to  knock  at  but  there  is  no  door 
for  lost  Han.”  How  like  oil  on  the  troubled 
waters  of  the  soul  fall  such  sentences  as  these, 
“My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.”  “Resist 
not.”  “For  our  citizenship  is  in  heaven.” 
There  also  we  have  our  “city  which  hath  the 
foundations,  whose  builder  and  maker  is 
God.” 

Fairy  The  possibility  of  a poor  Korean,  really  and 
truly  under  such  circumstances,  knocking  at 
the  palace  gates  of  heaven  and  making  applica- 
tion for  citizenship  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  being 
received,  his  name  recorded,  and  a happy 
peaceful  heart  given  as  proof  thereof  is  like  a 
fairy  tale  of  the  Taoists.  It  is  like  the  story 
of  the  resurrected  Jesus  to  Peter  and  his  com- 
panions, a something  that  the  women  must 
have  hatched  up,  but  that  sound-minded  men 
could  not  receive. 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  43 


My  friend  Kim  says:  “We  have  no  king. 
The  one  we  had  was  a poor  makeshift,  to  be 
sure,  but  anything  is  better  than  no  king.  He 
would  never  take  a reprimand.  The  number 
of  heads  of  chief  officers  that  dropped  during 
his  reign  was  astounding.  He  was  mighty  in 
having  his  own  way,  and  in  keeping  the  people 
under.  He  used  to  say:  ‘Don’t  make  a noise. 
Don’t  talk  about  the  government.  Don’t  fight 
each  other  and  send  petitions  to  the  Palace. 
Just  eat  your  rice,  and  do  your  work,  and  be 
good.’  When  the  people  attempted  to  cariy 
on  the  Independence  Club,  his  majesty  put  up 
a notice  on  the  Bell-kiosk,  ‘Let  there  be  no 
meetings,  or  shout-talk  of  any  kind  in  the 
streets.  You  are  commanded  every  man  to 
stay  at  home  and  mind  his  own  business.’  He 
handcuffed  us,  he  robbed  us,  he  paddled  us, 
he  hanged  and  quartered  us,  he  lived  for  him- 
self alone  and  for  his  worn-out  superstitions, 
but  it  was  better  than  no  king.  So  deeply  is  the 
patriarchal  thought  written  on  the  heart,  that 
bees  could  as  easily  swarm  without  a queen- 
bee  as  Korea  lift  up  its  head  without  some 
choice  in  the  way  of  ruler.” 

The  old  king,  after  having  been  execrated 
for  twenty  years  or  more,  suddenly  swings 


Many  Faults 
but  Still  Their 
King 


Turning  to  a 
Heavenly  King 


44 


Korea  in  Transition 


into  a niche  of  honor,  by  virtue  of  the  death 
that  his  kingship  dies.  The  Japanese,  through 
the  present  cabinet,  put  his  son  on  the  throne 
in  his  place,  but  Kim  knows  nothing  of  that. 
He  repeats,  “Alas,  there  is  no  king  to-day.” 
For  these  kingless,  downcast,  fifteen  millions 
of  Koreans  there  was  written  long  ago,  The 
name  of  your  King  is  “W onderful,  Counsellor, 
Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father,  Prince  of 
Peace.” 

The  Higher  What  a day  in  which  to  proclaim  the  nature 

of  his  kingdom ! He  too  was  an  Oriental.  He 
too  lived  in  a land  fallen  as  to  kingship.  He 
too  felt  the  shame  of  the  nation’s  loss.  He  died 
with  and  for  guilty  men.  “He  lives  and  holds 
in  his  hand  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world, 
Japan  as  well  as  Judea.  He  brought  you  here 
under  the  harrow;  he  sent  the  Japanese  that 
you  might  be  taught  to  yield  to  him.”  An  old 
man  with  teeth  out  and  cheeks  fallen  in  says, 
“I  used  to  be  an  officer  of  state  myself,  and 
my  heart  was  caked  hard  with  the  doings  there- 
of, but  since  I came  to  Jesus  and  he  is  my  King, 
I love  even  the  Japanese,  and  the  mountains  of 
the  west  over  which  my  sun  is  setting  are  all 
lighted  up  with  glory.” 

Since  1122  B.  C.,  when  the  Chinese  sacred 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  45 


books  were  first  brought  to  Korea  by  Viscount 
Ki,  Korea  has  been  a worshiper  of  literature. 
As  the  sycee-silver  shoe  might  represent  China, 
and  the  two-handed  sword  Japan,  the  brush 
pen  with  the  bamboo  handle  would  be  the 
choice  of  all  for  Korea.  Happy  the  man  who 
knows  its  companionship,  who  can  grip  it  verti- 
cally, strike  across  the  page  and  bring  his  line 
to  the  required  finish,  mark  it  dovrnward  and 
not  weaken  at  the  end,  cut  east  and  west,  dot, 
and  turn  the  corner.  It  requires  years  to 
learn  all  this.  The  labor-blunted  hand  of  the 
Westerner  could  never  do  it.  The  joy  of  writ- 
ing the  characters  takes  its  rise  high  up  in  the 
Korean’s  heaven.  Then  the  reading  of  them 
is  like  deciphering  messages  from  the  gods. 
The  man  who  could  do  so  well,  was  honored 
by  king  and  commoner  alike.  To  encourage 
this  sublime  art,  there  were  periodical  examina- 
tions held,  to  which  candidates  presented  them- 
selves from  all  corners  of  the  land.  Many  came 
hundreds  of  miles  all  the  way  on  foot,  in  the 
hope  of  gaining  some  distinction  at  the  Koaga 
(Examination).  Though  you  failed,  the  fact 
that  you  were  a candidate  was  distinction  un- 
questioned. To  pass  and  become  a Konp-jc 
clothed  you  with  Korea’s  most  excellent  glory. 


National  Love 
Of  Literature 


46 


Korea  in  Transition 


Honor  for 
Education 


Old  Literature 
and  School 
Methods 
Forsaken 


Throughout  the  land  were  schoolrooms, 
where  lads  gathered  for  study,  singing  out  the 
lesson  all  together  at  the  top  of  the  voice.  A 
third  of  the  time  they  read,  a third  of  the  time 
they  wrote,  a third  of  the  time  they  composed. 
So  greatly  are  literature  and  education  honored, 
that  the  common  title,  Mr.  (So-bang) , means 
really  “Schoolroom”  or  we  might  better  say 
“School-man” ; so  we  have  “School-man”  this 
and  “School-man”  that.  It  may  be  Pak  who 
digs  weeds  in  the  paddy-field  and  never  studied 
a day  in  his  life,  but  he  too  is  “School-man” 
Pak,  and  he  addresses  his  fellow  laborer  Koak 
as  “School-man”  Koak.  Everybody  is  a 
“School-man,”  all  over  the  land,  by  reason  of 
the  desire  to  share  in  even  the  shadow  of 
the  glory  that  goes  with  literature. 

The  inrush  of  Goths  and  Vandals  in  410 
and  the  sacking  of  Rome  would  not  be  con- 
sidered by  a Korean  more  terrible  than  the 
forces  that  have  recently  pushed  through  the 
gateways  of  Korea.  Western  civilization,  the 
twentieth  century,  and  the  Japanese  are  quite 
as  fearful  and  barbarous  a combination.  Be- 
fore these  all  the  choice  idols  of  the  land  hare 
fallen,  and  chief  among  them  was  Qiinese  lit- 
erature, now  gone  down  to  the  eternal  shades. 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  47 

There  are  no  more  periodic  examinations,  no 
t more  singing  off  of  the  classics  in  hope  of  high 
honor  and  distinction,  no  more  meditating  over 
the  Book  of  Changes.  The  bamboo  pen  lies 
. dishonored,  and  the  barking  of  ten-inch  guns 
i takes  the  place  of  infant  voices  singing  out 
I “Heaven  blue,  earth  yellow,”  and  the  other  old 
! school  phrases. 

The  Korean  is  a gentleman  by  instinct,  he  Bibllcal 

worships  intellect  and  not  the  god  of  force. 

In  his  tears  over  his  fallen  divinity,  he  fumbles 
at  the  sword,  thinking  to  try  it,  but  the  sword 
is  not  his,  as  it  was  not  Peter’s.  What  shall 
he  do  for  something  that  will  take  the  place 
of  all  that  he  has  lost?  When  in  tears,  just 
at  this  time  there  comes  to  him  the  Bible,  sixty- 
I six  books,  oldest  in  the  world,  written  by 
; thirty-six  writers  or  more,  among  whom  were 
« shepherds  and  plowmen,  as  well  as  kings  and 
‘ princes.  It  stretches  in  its  range  over  fifteen 
hundred  years,  including  history,  doctrine,  and 
prophecy,  in  prose  and  verse;  it  points  to 
the  past,  even  back  of  the  days  of  Yo  and 
Sun;  it  speaks  with  kingly  authority  as  to  the 
present;  turning  its  searchlights  on  into  the 
| vistas  of  the  future;  it  tells  of  God,  what  he  is, 
and  what  he  has  done;  it  solves  the  problem  of 


48 


Korea  in  Transition 


Nal-wol 


Woman's 

Freedom 


man,  and  his  lost  condition ; it  leads  one  on  into 
places  of  deliverance,  victory,  and  peace.  Was 
there  ever  such  a literature,  and  was  there  ever 
such  a time  as  this?  Let  all  hearts  and  hands 
unite  in  getting  into  his  soul  these  divine  and 
kingly  truths.  Some  who  were  never  scholars 
in  the  ancient  classics  have  become  men  of 
mighty  influence,  because  the  heart  has  been 
filled  with  the  sayings  of  sages  such  as  Moses, 
Daniel,  Isaiah,  Peter,  Paul,  and  John. 

Among  the  breaking  down  of  ancient  cus- 
toms to-day,  Nai-woi  is  destined  to  go  likewise. 
Now  Nai-woi  is  not  an  Anamese  nor  an  East 
Indian  god,  but  an  old  Korean  custom  of  ma- 
ture years  and  long  standing.  It  has  been 
like  the  feathers  and  paint  on  the  red  Indian 
giving  him  glory  in  the  eyes  of  men,  to  the 
obliteration  of  his  female  partner,  who  is 
buried  under  the  monotonies  of  life  with  the 
papoose  on  her  back.  Nai-woi  means  ‘inside- 
outside’,  ‘prisoner-freeman’,  ‘woman-man’. 
Because  of  Nai-woi,  Korean  women  have 
gradually  disappeared  from  the  world  of 
recognition,  to  the  world  of  slavery  and  im- 
prisonment. 

History  has  from  time  immemorial  shown  us 
a locked-up  world  of  women,  women  made  pris- 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  49 


oners,  bought  and  sold.  Occasionally  one  has 
risen  superior  to  her  wrist-rings  and  shackles, 
and  made  her  name  and  influence  felt,  but  the 
woman’s  world  has  been  the  dark  curtained 
region  full  of  oppression  and  despair.  Jesus 
came  and  set  the  women  of  the  world  free.  He 
seems  to  be  the  only  one  who  knows  how  to 
unlock  her  prison-house,  so  as  not  to  have  it 
open  into  another  equally  woful.  Korea’s 
.women  have  been  under  the  closest  sort  of 
battened  down  hatches.  But  the  twentieth 
century  has  come  in,  holding  aloft  the  name 
of  Jesus  and  proclaiming  all  women  free. 
What  a consternation  has  been  created  in  the 
breaking  down  of  the  middle  wall,  Nai-woi, 
fraught  as  it  is  with  great  danger  as  well  as 
great  hope. 

High  women  of  the  land  who  never  saw 
sunshine  or  the  open  air  till  a few  days  ago, 
are  suddenly  shoved  pell-mell  into  public  func- 
tions and  asked  to  drink  champagne  and  be 
hail-fellow-well-met  with  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men.  With  no  precedent  behind, 
with  no  knowledge  accompanying,  and  with 
no  mature  vision  of  the  future,  these  women 
are  drifting  into  uncertainty  with  all  the  barbed 
wires  and  safeguards  of  Nai-woi  done  away. 


Her  New 
Perils 


50 


Korea  in  Transition 


Color  and 
Woman’s 
Raiment 


Hope  in  Jesus 


Peach-red 


The  East  is  full  of  color  and  can  match  the 
most  glaring  extremes  in  a way  pleasing  and 
grateful  to  the  eye,  but  let  it  get  out  of  its  world 
into  the  tints  of  the  West,  and  green  screams 
out  against  magenta,  and  purple  and  red  fight 
furiously.  So  in  dress,  shovel  hats  and  hollow- 
chested shirt-waists  run  riot  with  black  skirts 
waisted  high  up  under  the  arms.  How  sadly 
the  once  dreamy  woman’s  world  of  the  East 
has  developed  under  the  harsh  sunlight  of  to- 
day ! 

Where  is  hope  to  come  from?  Only  from 
Jesus,  seems  the  consensus  of  opinion,  even 
among  unbelievers.  In  lowly  companionship 
with  him  the  Eastern  woman  may  safely  meet 
the  breaking  down  of  custom.  A few  days 
ago  a Christian  official  on  a cgil  said:  “Our 
women  are  emancipated  from  the  slavery  that 
besets  them,  only  to  fall  into  a deeper  and  more 
deadly  one.  May  God  in  his  mercy  protect 
and  defend  them !” 

As  I write  I see  the  face  of  one  called  To- 
hong  (Peach-red).  She  was  a low-class  danc- 
ing-girl,  bought  and'  sold.  Restoration  was  a 
word  not  applicable  to  her,  for  she  never  was 
right.  She  was  born  lapsed  and  lived  lapsed. 
Over  the  walls  of  the  world  that  encircled  her 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  51 

came  the  story  of  Jesus,  a man,  a wise  and  pure 
man,  pure  as  God  is  pure,  in  fact  a God  as  God 
is  God,  yet  it  was  said  that  he  loved  lost  and 
fallen  women.  Peach-red  had  never  before 
heard  of  such  a being.  Her  soul  was  sick,  and 
she  wondered  if  she  could  but  meet  him  what 
he  would  say  to  “the  likes  of  her”,  and  if  he 
really  could  cure  soul-sickness.  When  or  where 
or  how  Peach-red  met  Jesus  I know  not;  that 
she  met  him  I most  assuredly  know.  Seven 
years  had  rolled  away,  and  out  of  my  life 
passed  the  name  of  Peach-red.  It  was  for- 
gotten in  the  multitude  of  names  that  crowded 
on  me.  One  Sunday,  after  service  in  a great 
meeting-house  of  some  two  thousand  people, 
with  this  and  that  one  coming  forward  to  say 
“Peace,”  there  appeared  before  me  a smiling 
face  known  and  yet  not  known.  “Don’t  you 
remember  me?  Baptized  me  seven  years  ago. 
My  old  name  was  Peach-red.”  Here  was  this 
woman  in  value  once  less  than  zero,  crowned 
with  the  light  and  liberty  and  growth  in  grace 
of  seven  years.  On  long  journeys  over  the 
mountains,  hundreds  of  miles,  on  such  a mis- 
sion as  Paul’s  through  Europe  had  gone  the 
unwearied  feet  of  Peach-red.  For  seven  years 
it  had  been  a pilgrimage  of  victory,  and  she 


5 2 


Korea  in  Transition 


Social  Barriers 
Removed 


“Face" 


was  here  to-day  with  an  overflowing  heart 
to  thank  the  Lord. 

By  her  side  sat  Madam  Yee,  wife  of  one  of 
Korea’s  noted  men,  once  imprisoned,  curtained 
round,  secluded,  shadowed  by  the  awful  form 
of  Nai-woi,  proud  too,  not  deigning  to  look  at 
such  refuse  as  Peach-red.  To-day  they  sit  to- 
gether and  Madam  Yee  says:  “You  know  so 
much  of  the  Bible.  Let  me  listen  while  you 
read  it.  Truly  you  are  dear.”  Jesus  had 
broken  Nai-woi  so  that  Madam  Yee  came  to 
this  crowded  meeting-house.  He  had  bridged 
the  chasm  that  divided  these  two  women.  He 
had  delivered  the  poor  dancing-girl  from  the 
life  of  a broken  Nai-woi  and  from  the  slavery 
under  which  she  was  held.  Surely  at  such  a 
day  as  this  when  the  woman’s  world  is  crashed 
into  and  the  dividing  walls  are  down,  we  need 
the  gospel  to  point  out  the  new  and  better  way. 

The  word  “face,”  Mo-yang,  flourishes 
widely  in  the  Far  East  and  has  one  of  the  first 
claims  on  the  heart  of  Korea.  Be  the  dress 
however  fine,  unless  the  face  be  comely  the 
man  stands  at  a disadvantage.  If  he  be  fur- 
rowed and  bristled  over  with  a jungle  of  hair, 
the  wearer  may  be  Thomas  Carlyle,  and  may 
have  written  Sartor  Resartus,  but  that  does 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  53 

not  redeem  him  from'  a certain  flavor  of  bar- 
barism. Perhaps  the  face  of  Yuan  Shih-k‘ai 
would  as  nearly  answer  the  ideal  of  Korea  as 
any  other,  round,  well  set,  carried  with  all 
dignity,  agreeable  to  look  upon,  proud,  in- 
scrutable. This  pertains  to  the  outer  face, 
but  there  is  an  inner  face  that  is  the  real  ques- 
tion. We  notice  it  when  he  says,  “If  I be  put 
to  shame,  so  that  others  know  it,  I have  lost 
face.”  Korea  has  no  nerves  to  speak  of,  but 
any  amount  of  abnormal  appreciation  of  this 
word  “face”. 

Esson  Third  writes:  “My  neighbor  across 
the  way  has  had  about  seventeen  dogs  snarling, 
grinning,  yelping,  round  his  corn-stalk  paling 
for  the  last  forty-eight  hours.  All  the  discord- 
ant sounds  imaginable  have  been  repeated  a 
million  times.  I inquired  this  morning  as  to 
the  neighbor  and  the  neighbor’s  wife,  of  what 
they  were  made — of  wood,  or  mud,  or  dry 
bones — that  they  could  tolerate  forty-eight 
hours  of  such  a pandemonium.  My  Korean 
friends  could  not  understand  what  I meant. 
They  understood  the  words  but  not  the 
thought.  What  had  these  dog  noises  to  do 
with  the  make-up  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Chew. 
Chew  is  at  peace,  Mrs.  Chew  is  at  peace  as 


Nerves 
Unaffected  by 
Noise 


54 


Korea  in  Transition 


But  Unable  to 
Bear  Criticism 


Loas  of 
‘Face” 


well,  both  are  in  possession  of  unbroken  face. 
She  has  no  diseased  harp-strings  in  her  soul, 
that  get  all  on  edge  with  every  noise  that  the 
Orient  gives  off.  I am  struck  with  the  differ- 
ence between  Mrs.  Chew,  for  example,  and 
Thomas  Carlyle.  After  forty-eight  hours  of 
yelpings,  snarlings,  screamings,  she  is  in  per- 
fect peace,  and  her  soul  reposes  blissfully. 
Carlyle  had  had  one  night  of  it  at  the  hands 
of  a small  dog  over  the  way.  He  says,  “By 
five  o’clock  in  the  morning,  I would  have  given 
a guinea  of  gold  for  its  hind  legs  firm  in  my 
right  hand  by  the  side  of  a good  stone  wall.” 

Mrs.  Chew,  unmoved  after  forty-eight  hours 
of  seventeen  dogs,  thinks  what  a diabolical 
frame  of  mind  for  any  man  to  be  in.  Carlyle 
would  die  under  this  grinding  of  the  nerves, 
but  to  die  because  of  what  others  thought  fail- 
ure he  knew  not.  Nothing  served  better  to 
rouse  the  war-horse  within  him  and  his  bris- 
tling mane  than  to  feel  that  he  was  the  one  man 
against  forty  million  other  Britishers,  “mostly 
fools.”  Not  so  Korea. 

In  the  recent  political  shipwreck  the  worst 
is  that  Korea  has  gone  down  with  loss  of 
“face”.  This  is  why  Min  suicided.  This  is 
why  the  present  brings  a lonely  shameful  sense 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  55 


of  death  to  the  people.  Not  the  loss  of  tangible 
property  so  much  as  this  ruin  of  the  proper 
form,  is  what  the  Korean  dies  under.  Humilia- 
tion unspeakable  has  gripped  his  soul,  and  he 
says:  “With  what  face  can  I look  upon  the 
whole  world,  with  what  face  will  I meet  the 
spirits  of  my  forefathers  in  the  Yellow 
Shades?” 

However  unreasonable  this  position  may 
seem  to  be;  how  much  better  soever  the  pres- 
ent may  seem  as  compared  with  the  hopeless 
past,  he  views  it  not  so.  Friend  Kim  says, 
“Face  is  lost  and  eternal  shame  is  my  portion 
forever.”  At  such  a time  as  this,  when  he 
has  written  large  over  the  portals  of  the  future, 
Chul-mang-mun  (the  gateway  of  despair), 
“Abandon  hope  all  ye  who  enter  here,”  what 
a joy  to  be  a missionary,  called  to  such  a time 
as  this  and  to  so  needy  a people  to  say  to  them : 
“Listen,  while  I read  to  you,  ‘Why  art  thou  cast 
down,  O my  soul?  And  why  are  thou  dis- 
quieted within  me?  Hope  thou  in  God;  for  I 
shall  yet  praise  him,  who  is  the  help  of  my 
countenance,  and  my  God.’  ” 

“Can  he  truly  heal  loss  of  face?”  This 
is  the  question.  Some  think  he  can, — those 
who  have  tested  him ; some  think  he  cannot, — 


An  Evangel  of 
Hope 


Reality  of 
Divine  Help 


Power  in 
Allen  Hands 


56  Korea  in  Transition 

those  who  have  not.  One  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Wonderful,  T.  J.  Wonderful,  spoke 
in  last  Wednesday’s  meeting.  He  is  a student 
twenty-two  years  old.  He  said : “I  once  looked 
with  admiration  upon  a minister  of  state,  I 
thought  him  the  acme  of  all  in  all,  till  I learned 
God’s  message  to  my  soul.  When  that  came, 
the  whole  world  changed ; in  place  of  admira- 
tion, there  was  nothing  but  a pitiful  longing 
left,  and  a prayer  that  he  too  might  believe. 
For  a world  of  fallen  countenances  there  is 
no  help  like  God.” 

Korea  like  all  other  nations  loves  power, 
power  over  the  lives,  destinies,  and  liberties 
of  men.  Millionaire  kings  are  not  seen  here 
as  at  home,  but  official  kings  have  always  ex- 
isted. Then  too  there  are  kings  of  literature 
and  kings  of  ancient  aristocracy.  Power  is 
sweet,  but  when  one  cannot  have  it,  the  next 
best  thing  is  to  look  up  and  admire  the  man  who 
has,  if  you  consistently  can.  To-day  power 
has  passed  out  of  the  Korean’s  hand  and  into 
the  hand  of  a man  whom  he  cannot  admire; 
hence  there  comes  this  feeling  of  desolation. 
Nominally  power  remains  his  still,  but  it  is 
only  the  ghost  and  thin  shades  that  we  see. 

In  olden  days  tax-levying,  collecting,  dis- 


A Contrast 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  57 


bursing,  transmitting,  and  other  details  of  ad- 
ministration, provided  an  unlimited  field  for 
the  science  of  ‘squeeze’,  and  out  of  this  grew 
one  of  Korea’s  most  deadly  national  sins.  To- 
day no  taxes  pass  through  the  Korean’s  hand, 
except  what  he  pays,  or  what  he  receives  after 
permission  of  a Japanese  official.  This  is  the 
logical  result  of  a long  list  of  national  wrong- 
doings, but  it  is  bitter  none  the  less.  The  yel- 
low harvests  of  rice  and  the  long  stretches  of 
beans  and  millet  have  lost  their  poetry,  and  are 
flat  and  colorless. 

Then  there  was  the  field  of  office-seeking  and 
appointing.  Fierce  were  the  tugs  of  war  and 
glorious  was  the  end  to  the  victor  with  the 
spoils  thereof.  Happy  the  man  who  could  ride 
down  all  opponents  and  get  himself  possessed 
of  the  two-handed  paddle.  To-day  all  this 
high  privilege  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Resident- 
General.  To  think  of  such  a thing  is  like  a 
nightmare  from  which  he  tries  to  shake  him- 
self into  substantial  awakening.  He  finds 
however  that  the  dream  is  real,  and  that  the 
desired  reality  is  only  a dream. 

All  educational  matters,  too,  are  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  were  once  supposed  to  lie  illiterate 
island  savages.  They  decide  as  to  the  course 


Office 


Education 


58 


Korea  in  Transition 


Mining 

Privileges 


The  Customs 


The  Military 


of  study,  as  to  grants,  as  to  grades  of  schools, 
as  to  teachers,  as  to  everything  that  pertains 
to  the  world  of  letters. 

The  hills  that  were  given  Korea  by  God  four 
thousand  years  ago,  sown  rich  with  gold  and 
silver,  have  waited  in  vain  for  the  miner’s  hand 
to  dig  them.  Instead  the  Korean  has  peopled 
them  with  white  and  blue  devils,1  who  threaten 
him  with  dire  destruction  if  he  dare  cut  into 
their  backs  or  tails.2  The  result  is,  God  has 
taken  the  hills  away  from  him,  and  passed  them 
on  to  others,  and  the  Korean  has  no  power  to- 
day even  to  hold  a mine,  much  less  to  grant 
concessions. 

The  Customs,  organized  by  Sir  Robert  Hart 
and  developed  by  Sir  John  McL.  Brown,  are 
in  the  hands  of  the  alien,  too,  and  all  the  dollars 
that  accrue  therefrom. 

The  Korean  soldier  who  used  to  stand  guard 
by  the  Palace  gates  or  drill  out  in  the  open 
square  has  been  spirited  away.  He  has  gone, 
and  not  even  the  echo  of  his  bugle-call  remains 
to  us.  He  was  the  nation’s  representative  of 
power  and  glory,  standing  at  present  arms 

* The  “ White  Tiger  ” and  “ Blue  Dragon  " as  named  in 
geomancy. 

* A street  in  Seoul  still  shows  the  Dragon's  back  protected 
by  stones. 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  59 


beautifully,  or  giving  the  general  salute  when 
the  king  went  by.  He  is  gone.  The  cicada-fly 
still  sings,  the  tree-toad  pipes,  and  the  peasant 
quavers  his  old-fashioned  throat  notes  of  an 
evening,  but  “lights  out”  no  longer  greets  the 
ear  of  the  Korean  soldier,  and  the  reveille  is 
silent.  Only  celestial  armies,  such  as  Elisha 
saw,  fill  the  distant  hills.  Like  a far-off  whis- 
per comes  the  word : “All  power  is  given  unto 
me  in  heaven  and  on  earth.  Accept  my  life. 
Swing  into  line  with  me,  and  all  your  doings 
will  be  victorious.” 

These  have  been  bitter  years.  Hatred,  sus- 
picion, strife,  with  their  accompaniments  of 
bloodshed,  burned  villages,  poverty,  tears,  and 
suicide,  have  cut  deep  into  the  souls  of  the  peo- 
ple. Those  whose  hands  were  accustomed  to  the 
gentle  methods  of  pipe  and  pen  are  to-day 
cold-blooded  in  the  use  of  rifle,  bayonet,  and 
revolver.  Every  day  the  government  papers 
report  so  many  insurgents  captured,  so  many 
wounded,  so  many  shot.  How  men  can  hate, 
how  they  can  lie  and  steal  and  murder,  are  old 
stories  not  do  be  learned  in  the  East  only.  Who 
can  pour  oil  on  the  troubled  waters  ? Who  can 
say  to  Galilee,  when  the  typhoon  bears  across 
it,  and  blind  with  fury,  drives  Peter,  John,  and 


Who  is 
Sufficient  t 


6o  Korea  in  Transition 

their  associates  toward  the  grinding  rocks, 
who  can  lift  his  hand  at  such  a time  and  say, 
“Steady,  cease!”  Who  can  look  on  the  man  of 
failure,  the  man  who  has  tried  the  sword  and 
missed  the  mark,  who  has  lied  and  sworn,  and 
filled  his  heart  with  hatred  and  fear,  a good- 
for-nothing,  lost  man,  who  by  a look  can  melt 
such  a one  and  bring  him  to  his  knees  in  tears 
of  repentance?  Who  can  say  to  prison  doors, 
“Swing  back”,  and  to  all  of  Caesar’s  guards, 
“Out  of  my  way”?  Who  can  speak  and  be 
heard  by  ears  long  dead?  Who  can  turn 
a land  of  sorrow  into  glad  rejoicing?  Who 
can  make  me  forget  my  wrongs,  and  love  the 
man  I hated,  and  make  him  whom  I have 
wronged  love  me  ? Who  can  take  zero  and  by 
multiplying  it  all  down  the  ages  make  it  spell 
infinity?  Who  can  make  out  of  poor  Galilee 
drift-wood  a being  like  Peter,  almost  divine? 
Who  can  bind  together  in  one  unbreakable 
bond  of  love  Korea  and  Japan,  and  making 
them  forget  their  mutual  grievances,  form  of 
them  a mighty  people  for  the  glory  of  his 
Father’s  name? 


The  Nation’s  Present  Situation  6i 


SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  II 

Aim:  To  Understand  Korea’s  Need  in  Her 

National  Humiliation 

I.  The  National  Humiliation. 

1.  Why  would  the  United  States  resent  the  pro- 
posal to  choose  a king  as  head  of  the  nation? 

2.  Why  would  Canada  resent  the  proposal  to 
elect  a President? 

3.  To  what  extent  would  this  feeling  on  the  part 
of  the  two  nations  be  justifiable? 

4.  Why  did  the  Koreans  tolerate  their  corrupt 
and  inefficient  government? 

5. *  How  near  do  you  think  their  patriotism  ap- 

proaches that  of  Anglo-Saxon  North  America? 

6.  In  what  ways  does  it  most  markedly  differ? 

7.  Why  do  the  Koreans  grieve  so  greatly  over 
the  loss  of  their  reactionary  king? 

8.  Why  do  they  regret  the  passing  of  corrupt 
officials? 

9.  How  would  you  feel  if  your  country  were 
garrisoned  with  foreign  troops? 

10.  What  is  the  difference  between  initiating  re- 
forms for  yourself  and  having  them  dictated 
from  without? 

11. *  Sum  up  as  vividly  as  possible  the  Korean 

sense  of  national  humiliation. 

II.  The  Needs  of  the  New  Order. 

12*  What  are  some  of  the  differences  in  detail 
between  a society  founded  on  custom  and  one 
founded  on  the  ideal  of  progress? 

13.*  What  qualities  are  demanded  for  the  second 
that  are  not  necessary  for  the  first? 


62 


Korea  in  Transition 


14.  What  are  the  special  dangers  in  the  transition 
from  the  first  to  the  second  of  these  stand- 
points ? 

15.  What  are  the  disadvantages  of  a progressive 
society  for  a man  who  is  not  trained  for  it? 

16. *  What  sort  of  training  do  you  think  Korean 

boys  should  have  to  fit  them  for  the  chang- 
ing conditions? 

17*  What  sort  of  training  should  girls  have? 

18.  What  ideals  of  personal  character  does  Korea 
need  most  just  now? 

III.  The  Comfort  of  Christianity. 

19.  Work  out  the  points  of  resemblance  between 
the  present  Korean  political  situation  and 
that  of  the  Jews  in  exile. 

20.  Select  several  passages  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment which  you  think  would  be  of  especial 
comfort  to  Koreans  to-day. 

21.  In  what  respect  was  the  political  position  of 
the  early  Christian  Church  like  that  of  Korea 
at  present? 

22. *  What  things  has  the  Christian  Church  to 

offer  that  help  to  supply  the  loss  of  nationality? 

23.  Collect  the  New  Testament  passages  that  you 
think  would  be  most  helpful  in  the  present 
situation. 

24.  What  is  the  message  of  the  Bible  on  the 
subject  of  race  hatred? 

25. *  What  would  be  your  counsel  to  a Korean 

patriot  in  the  present  distress? 


The  Nation's  Present  Situation  63 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  II 

1.  Recent  History. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  chs.  VIII-XIV. 
Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  chs.  XXI- 
XXIII,  XXXI,  XXXVI-XXXVII. 

Gale:  Korean  Sketches,  ch.  XI. 

II.  Korean  Misrule. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  III. 

Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  101,  102, 
329,  446-448. 

Gifford:  Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  p.  57. 

III.  Character  of  the  King. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XXVII. 
Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  257,  258, 
433- 


THE  BELIEFS  OF  THE  PEOPLE 


In  no  department  of  Korean  life  Is  the  antiquity  of  their 
civilization  so  clearly  demonstrated  as  in  the  mosaic  of 
religious  beliefs  that  are  held,  not  only  by  different  indi- 
viduals, but  by  any  single  individual.  We  have  no  choice 
but  to  deal  with  these  separately,  but  the  reader  must  ever 
bear  in  mind  that  in  every  Korean  mind  there  is  a jumble 
of  the  whole;  that  there  is  no  antagonism  between  the  dif- 
ferent cults,  however  they  may  logically  refute  each  other, 
but  that  they  have  all  been  shaken  down  together  through 
the  centuries  until  they  form  a sort  of  religious  composite, 
from  which  each  man  selects  his  favorite  ingredients  without 
ever  ignoring  the  rest.  Nor  need  any  man  hold  exclusively 
to  any  one  phase  of  this  composite  religion.  In  one  frame 
of  mind  he  may  lean  toward  the  Buddhistic  element  and  at 
another  time  he  may  revert  to  his  ancestral  fetishism.  As 
a general  thing,  we  may  say  that  the  all-round  Korean  will 
be  a Confucianist  when  in  society,  a Buddhist  when  he 
philosophizes,  and  a spirit-worshiper  when  he  is  in  trouble. 
Now,  if  you  can  know  what  a man’s  religion  is,  you  must 
watch  him  when  he  is  in  trouble.  Then  his  genuine  religion 
will  come  out,  if  he  has  any.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I con- 
clude that  the  underlying  religion  of  the  Korean,  the  founda- 
tion upon  which  all  else  is  mere  superstructure,  is  his  original 
spirit-worship.  In  this  term  are  included  animism,  shaman- 
ism, fetishism,  and  nature-worship  generally. 

—Homer  B.  Hulbert 


66 


Ill 

THE  BELIEFS  OF  THE  PEOPLE 

Korea  seems  peculiarly  devoid  of  religion. 
There  are  no  great  temples  in  the  capital  that 
tower  above  the  common  dwellings  of  men. 
There  are  no  priests  evident,  no  public  pray- 
ings, no  devotees,  no  religious  fakirs,  no  sacred 
animals  walking  about,  no  bell-books  or  candles 
sold,  no  pictures  with  incense  sticks  before 
them,  no  prostrations,  in  fact  no  ordinary  signs 
of  religion,  and  yet  if  religion  be  the  reaching 
out  of  the  spiritual  in  man  to  other  spirits  over 
and  above  him,  the  Korean  too  is  religious. 
He  has  his  sacred  books,  he  kneels  in  prayer, 
he  talks  of  God,  of  the  soul,  of  the  heavenly 
country. 

We  hear  him  repeat:  “The  man  who  does 
right  God  rewards  with  blessing ; the  man  who 
does  wrong  God  punishes  with  misery.”  “If 
we  obey  God  we  live;  if  we  disobey  him  we 
die.”  “Secret  whispers  among  men  God  hears 
as  a clap  of  thunder;  hidden  schemes  in  the 
darkened  chamber  he  sees  as  a flash  of  light- 
67 


Outward  Signs 
of  Religion 
Lacking 


Religious 

Sayings 


68 


Korea  in  Transition 


Superstition 

Prevalent 


ning.”  “Let  the  body  die  and  die  and  die  a 
hundred  times,  and  let  all  my  bones  return  to 
dust,  and  let  my  soul  dissipate  into  nothingness, 
yet  not  one  iota  of  loyalty  shall  I change  to- 
ward my  sovereign  lord  [the  king].” 

Korea’s  is  a strange  religion,  a mixing  of 
ancestor  worship  with  Buddhism,  Taoism, 
spirit  cults,  divination,  magic,  geomancy,  as- 
trology, and  fetishism.  Dragons  play  a part; 
devils  ( kwi-shin ) or  nature  gods  are  abundant; 
tokgabi  (elfs,  imps,  goblins)  are  legion  and 
are  up  to  all  sorts  of  pranks  and  capers ; spirits 
of  dead  humanity  are  here  and  there  present; 
eternal  shades  walk  about ; there  are  personali- 
ties in  hills,  trees,  and  rivers,  in  diseases,  under 
the  ground  and  in  the  upper  air,  some  few 
ministering  to  mortal  needs,  but  most  of  them 
malignant  in  their  disposition,  bearing  wo  and 
terror  to  the  sons  of  men.  So  easily  are  they 
offended  and  so  whimsical  in  their  make-up 
and  difficult  to  please,  that  the  spirit  world  is 
little  better  than  Hades  let  out  of  school,  with 
all  mortals  at  their  mercy.  Hornets  are  hard 
to  fight  against,  as  the  kings  of  the  Amorites 
found  in  the  days  of  Joshua : still  a sure  hand 
may  hit  a hornet : but  who  among  mortals  can 
overcome  sprites,  wraiths,  and  banshees,  where 


Moving  Dead  Body  Three  Years  after  Burial  by  Order  of 
Geomancers 


Ancestor  Worship 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  69 


no  head  ever  pops  up  or  other  visible  appendage 
accompanies  ? 

But  is  there  any  religion  that  possesses  the 
heart  of  the  nation  as  a whole,  or  are  the  people, 
as  Mrs.  Bishop  and  Percival  Lowell  lead 
one  to  infer,  without  anything  of  the  sort? 
The  longer  I am  in  touch  with  Korean  environ- 
ment the  more  emphatically  would  I say  that 
they  have  a religion,  and  that  they  do  much 
more  for  it,  and  because  of  it,  than  the  average 
Christians  do  at  home  for  their  faith.  High 
above  all  other  cults  and  customs  stands  An- 
cestor Worship.  It  is  the  key-stone  of  Korea’s 
gateway  to  the  happy  lands  of  prosperity  and 
success.  To  neglect  it  blocks  the  whole  high- 
way toward  life  and  hope.  A good  ancestor 
worshiper  may  consult  the  Buddha,  may  inquire 
of  Ok-wang  Sang-je  (the  Jade  God  of  the  Tao- 
ists),  may  bow  or  expectorate  before  the  or- 
dinary hill-gods,  may  set  up  posts  to  the  Five 
Point  Generals,  and  consult  luck  and  divina- 
tion ; but  to  forget  the  ancestors  and  to  resort 
to  these  only,  would  be  to  pray  to  the  shadow 
without  the  essence.  Ancestor  worship  pos- 
sesses completely  the  heart  and  soul  of  Korea. 

How  does  ancestor  worship  manifest  itself, 
seeing  that  there  are  no  temples  to  remind  one, 


Ancestor 
Worship  Hold 
Chief  Place 


It*  Outward 
Marks 


70 


Korea  in  Transition 


no  altars,  no  shrines,  no  priests,  no  litany  said 
or  sung?  What  are  its  marks  or  features?  We 
answer,  the  mourner’s  dress,  the  tablet,  the 
tablet-house,  the  grave.  As  these,  and  the 
thoughts  that  accompany  them,  have  occupied 
a very  much  greater  place  in  the  life  of  Korea 
than  the  tenets  of  the  Christian  faith  have  ever 
done  in  any  of  the  Western  nations  of  the 
world,  I shall  enter  somewhat  carefully  into 
their  detail. 

A professional  “earth-master”  ( Chi-sa ), 
ground  doctor,  tomb  inspector,  or  whatever 
you  may  call  him,  is  summoned  by  the  chief 
of  a house  and  asked  to  find  a grave  site  for 
the  family.  He  is  a father-confessor,  but  in- 
stead of  pointing  upward  he  points  down.  He 
requires  money  too,  the  more  the  better,  if  the 
family  would  be  redeemed  by  his  lucky  find- 
ings. He  seeks  out  a quiet  spur  of  a hill  that 
looks  off  toward  enclosing  peaks.  There  must 
be  no  oozy  waters,  no  noisy  people,  no  nerve- 
wearing  winds,  but  the  gentle  breeze,  the  quiet 
of  the  hills,  and  the  full  blessing  of  the  sun- 
shine. He  sets  his  compass  and  then  takes  aim 
from  the  different  lines  that  radiate  from  the 
center,  to  see  what  hill  peaks  show  up,  on  the 
right,  or  left,  or  in  front.  Lucky  the  site  that 


Mourner 


Masked  Heroes  at  a Funeral  to  Chase  away  Evil  Spirits 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  71 

finds  one  along  the  compass  line  of  posterity, 
for  the  family  will  then  go  on  generation  after 
generation;  on  the  line  of  education,  for  then 
the  house  will  be  great  as  to  scholars;  along 
the  line  of  rank,  that  many  may  be  official 
kings ; along  the  line  of  goods  and  chattels,  so 
that  every  man  may  be  wealthy.  This  is  the 
heaven  aimed  at  by  the  professor  with  his  com- 
pass. When  once  found  and  proved  satisfac- 
tory, he  is  paid  off,  and  the  grave  is  dug  and 
plastered  with  lime,  sand,  and  mud.  and 
covered  over  ready  for  the  departure  of  the 
father  or  mother  or  both. 

When  they  die,  wailing  goes  on  for  a time,  The  Mourner 
not  gentle  or  smothered  sobs,  but  open-mouthed 
howlings.  In  four  days  the  members  of  the 
family  are  dressed  in  sackcloth,  with  ropes  tied 
about  the  waist  and  head.  All  colors  are  set 
aside,  as  color  denotes  pleasure,  joy,  delight. 

The  house  is  unswept  and  desolation  reigns 
supreme,  with  wailings  and  self-denunciation. 

Envelope  this  in  an  atmosphere  tainted  by  the 
presence  of  the  dead,  and  you  have  a Korean 
demise  and  the  accompaniments  just  as  they 
ought  to  be.  The  mourner  wears  string  shoes, 
never  leather,  for  leather  denotes  ease  and  com- 
fort; he  eats  no  meat,  holds  no  office,  goes 


72 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  Funeral 


The  Soul 


Sacrifice 


about  with  an  umbrella  hat  on  that  hides  the 
face  of  the  sky  from  his  guilty  gaze.  “Because 
of  my  transgressions  my  parents  have  died,” 
says  he,  and  when  he  writes  a letter  he  signs 
it,  “Yours  truly,  J.  W.  Kim,  Sinner.” 

The  corpse  is  dressed  in  finest  silk,  wrapped 
in  hemp  cloth,  and  then  tied  with  three,  some- 
times four  strips,  the  slit  ends  being  fastened 
tightly  round  the  body,  which  is  then  put  into 
the  coffin  and  covered.  Books  and  articles 
specially  prized  by  the  deceased  are  often  put 
in  as  well,  and  after  a few  days  or  months,  as 
the  case  may  be,  the  funeral  goes  out  at  night 
with  lanterns  burning  and  wailings  of  “ Aigo ! 
aigo!”  Into  such  a discordant  world  as  this 
come  the  words,  “For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus 
died  and  rose  again,  even  so  them  also  that  are 
fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with  him.” 
Each  human  being  is  supposed  to  possess  two 
souls,  one  a male  soul  (lion),  and  one  a female 
(pak).  Naturally  the  male  soul  goes  to  heaven 
and  the  female  to  hell,  while  the  body  sleeps  in 
the  ancestral  grave.  There  is  no  word  of 
resurrection,  for  resurrection  is  over  and  above 
and  outside  of  all  the  Confucian  calculations. 

Sacrifice  on  the  part  of  a Confucianist  equals 
going  to  church,  praying,  entering  the  Sunday- 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People 


73 


school  class,  joining  in  singing.  To  be  the 
head  of  a clan  is  more  than  to  be  a minister 
or  Sunday-school  superintendent.  For  three 
years,  on  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  each  month, 
the  head  of  the  home  offers  rice,  bread,  beef, 
Irish  stew,  greens,  dates,  chestnuts,  walnuts, 
persimmons,  honey  cakes,  oil  candy,  and  other 
articles  of  food  before  the  tablet  which  remains 
in  the  room.  The  male  soul  comes  down  from 
heaven  on  these  occasions  and  inhales  the  fra- 
grance and  then  goes  back.  The  poor  female 
soul  has  no  part  therein.  Wailing  continues 
for  three  months,  and  then  the  silent  sacrifice 
takes  its  place.  It  is  observed  each  time  at 
midnight,  or  just  before  cockcrow.  When  the 
tablet  has  been  worshiped  for  three  years,  it 
is  put  into  the  tablet-house,  and  mourning  is 
finished.  Only  three  generations  occupy  the 
tablet-house  at  one  and  the  same  time.  When 
a new  spirit  comes  in,  the  tablet  belonging  to 
the  great-grandfather  is  taken  out  and  buried. 

On  four  or  five  special  days  of  the  year,  sac- 
rifice is  offered  early  in  the  morning  at  the 
grave,  which  becomes  far  more  important  than 
the  home  of  the  living.  A neighbor  may  en- 
croach on  the  precincts  of  the  living,  and  noth- 
ing result  but  a very  noisy  seance;  but  to 


Requirements 
Respecting  the 
Grave 


74 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  Most 
Desperate 
Trouble 


invade  the  enclosure  of  the  dead  calls  for  the 
strongest  arm  of  the  law,  the  long  paddle,  the 
knife,  the  deadly  potion,  the  fierce  feud  that 
goes  on  forever.  The  grave  is  cared  for, 
watched  and  tended,  combed  and  brushed,  for 
the  repose  of  the  dead  is  all-important.  If  they 
be  misplaced,  the  opposites  of  health,  wealth, 
and  happiness  come  to  pass.  A poor  thin-faced 
consumptive  came  to  the  writer  to  have  him 
help  him  move  his  mother’s  grave.  “Where 
she  lay  was  oozy  with  water,  and  I caught 
consumption,”  said  he.  “If  I could  but  move 
her  I’d  get  well.”  Poor  lad,  his  hopes  of  life 
were  centered  in  the  situation  of  his  mother’s 
remains ! 

Let  a thief  at  home  kidnap  a child  and  write 
the  distracted  parents,  saying,  “I  have  Nelly  in 
my  keeping;  when  you  bring  $500  to  Smith’s 
Corners  at  1.00  a.m.  and  hand  it  over,  you  may 
have  her  back,”  and  it  would  set  the  whole 
village  by  the  ears.  But  suppose  Pak  the  out- 
law write  to  Min  the  millionaire,  saying,  “I’ve 
dug  up  your  father’s  bones,  and  have  them 
with  me.  If  you  send  $5,000  at  midnight  to 
Long  Valley  Stream  you  may  have  them.  If 
not  sent  by  next  full  moon,  be  warned,  I’ll 
grind  your  ancestors’  bones  to  powder.”  In 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  75 


this  case,  the  extreme  limits  of  desperation 
would  be  reached. 

If  one  were  to  sum  up  the  good  and  evil  of 
the  system,  we  might  say  that  it  is  good  in  that 
it  teaches  children  to  reverence  parents.  There 
are  no  restive  feelings  on  the  part  of  a Korean 
son  against  his  father’s  authority,  for  such  a 
thing  would  be  equivalent  to  rebellion  against 
God.  There  is  something  noble  and  exalted 
in  the  choice  of  one’s  parents  as  divinities  in 
default  of  a revelation  from  God.  Surely 
highest  on  earth  come  the  father  and  mother, 
higher  than  the  hero  of  the  Shintoist,  higher 
than  any  intermediate  beings  whatever. 

The  destructive  influence  of  ancestor  wor- 
ship, however,  far  outweighs  its  benefits.  It 
is  a ruthless  and  voracious  land-grabber;  the 
best  of  the  hills  are  for  the  dead.  The  living 
may  go  to  Jericho,  or  may  huddle  together 
down  in  the  malarial  flats,  while  the  ancestral 
shade  rests  in  the  high  places  on  the  hill.  The 
exhilarating  surroundings  of  trees  and  green 
sod  are  for  the  dead,  the  living  are  left  to  the 
dust  and  heat  and  smells  of  the  market-place. 

Ancestral  piety  forbids  the  digging  of  the 
hills  for  gold  or  silver  or  any  other  treasure. 
What  are  the  living  and  what  is  yellow  gold 


The  Good  in 
the  System 


Its  Destructive 
Influence 


Prevents  Mining 


76 


Korea  in  Transition 


Impels  to 
Early  Marriages 


Forbids  Travel 


Causes  the 
Spread  of 
Disease 


compared  with  the  sweet  repose  of  my  father’s 
ghost  ? Away  with  all  sordid  visions  and  leave 
the  hills  in  peace! 

Ancestor  worship  impels  toward  early  mar- 
riages in  its  hurriedly  reaching  out  after  a new 
generation  that  will  offer  sacrifice  to  one’s  de- 
parted shade.  Children  are  married  off  at  ten 
years  and  sometimes  less.  Love  marriages? 
What  has  love  to  do  with  it?  There  result, 
therefore,  unhappy  homes,  concubinage,  irre- 
sponsible parents,  a score  of  families  all  hud- 
dled together  in  two  or  three  little  rooms, 
stupidity  and  misery  untold. 

The  system  forbids  travel  in  this  widely 
journeying  age.  If  you  are  a good  child,  home 
you  must  come  for  sacrifice;  no  world-enter- 
prise can  interfere,  a certain  room,  a certain 
plot  of  ground,  a certain  day,  holds  you  fast 
prisoner.  Some  filial  sons  build  a little  shed 
out  by  the  grave,  and  unwashed  and  uncombed 
take  up  their  abode  and  exist  there. 

The  uncleanness  that  goes  with  ancestor 
worship,  the  lack  of  bathing,  the  keeping  of  the 
dead  remains  long  in  the  home,  all  minister  to 
the  spread  of  disease  and  to  the  promotion  of 
epidemics  which  have  worn  down  Korea  since 
time  immemorial. 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People 


77 


Its  extinction  of  woman  is  one  of  its  most 
pernicious  influences.  She  cannot  sacrifice,  she 
cannot  carry  down  the  family  line.  When  she 
enters  the  world,  disappointment  announces 
her  arrival,  unless  sons  galore  have  preceded 
her.  Her  life  is  a life  of  submission,  imprison- 
ment, and  burden-bearing.  Her  final  destina- 
tion is  Chi-ha  or  Whang-clmn,  the  Yellow  Hell. 

The  end  of  all  sacrifice  is  a people  bound 
hand  and  foot,  interfered  with  in  office,  hin- 
dered in  travel,  debarred  from  the  use  of  the 
land  that  God  gave  them,  impoverished  and 
made  unhappy  by  early  marriages,  walking, 
with  gaze  backward,  more  and  more  hopelessly 
into  inextricable  confusion,  all  in  conflict  with 
the  age  we  live  in.  The  twentieth  century  has 
no  regard  for  ancestor  worship,  or  ancestral 
hills,  through  which  it  goes  on  the  railway 
train,  around  them,  in  front  of  them,  cutting 
off  luck  and  prosperity,  screaming  its  wild  note 
in  the  most  sacred  valleys,  roaring  like  wild 
wheel-devils  let  loose. 

Even  if  there  were  no  Christianity  to  take 
its  place  ancestor  worship  must  go.  Out  of 
the  backs  of  the  “blue-dragon”  and  “white- 
tiger”1  come  long  lines  of  cars  loaded  with  ore 


Depresses 

Woman 


It  Must  Be 
Discarded 


Cannot  Stand 
against  the 
Modern  Spirit 


1 Spirits  supposed  to  reside  in  the  hills. 


78 


Korea  in  Transition 


Course  of  the 
Missionary  in 
Meeting  It 


God 


that  is  fed  into  the  mining  stamps  to  be  bitten 
and  chewed  and  pulverized,  till  all  the  metal  is 
extracted.  The  age  rolling  forward,  as  it  is 
inexorably,  is  smoothing  out  all  old  supersti- 
tions and  with  them  ancestor  worship. 

Confronting  the  young  missionary,  in  his 
ignorance,  is  the  stupendous  question  of  the 
ancestor,  rooted  deep  in  the  generations  that 
lie  buried,  and  with  its  tentacles  all  about  the 
living,  associated  with  the  wisest  of  the  Orient, 
and  backed  up  by  the  master  (Confucius)  him- 
self and  the  sages.  What  can  the  young  and 
often  callow  missionary  do  to  meet  this?  Can 
he  argue  the  point?  Never.  Can  he  speak  of 
it  at  all  with  any  effect?  No.  What  can  he 
do?  Do  as  the  negro  did  when  he  saw  the 
black  dog  waiting  guard  at  the  gate,  his  jaw 
“big”  and  his  eye  “mighty  dangersome”.  What 
did  he  do?  He  let  him  alone.  Let  it  alone. 
Know  all  about  it,  but  don’t  touch  it.  There 
is  no  need.  Ancestor  worship  is  dropped  off 
by  the  spiritually  alive,  as  the  beggar  drops  off 
his  old  garments  to  become  a prince  imperial. 

As  mentioned  before,  the  Korean  talks  of 
God.  He  is  Hananim,  the  one  Great  One.  His 
name  in  Chinese  and  also  in  Korean  is  made  up 
of  terms  meaning  “one”  and  “great.”  So  he 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  79 


is  the  Supreme  Ruler  for  whom  there  is  no 
image  or  likeness  in  heaven  or  earth  or  under 
the  earth.  Greatness  is  his.  Love  and  light 
and  life  and  joy  are  not  associated  with  him. 
I said  to  the  old  woman  (not  a Christian) 
dusting  off  the  door-steps,  “It  will  rain  to- 
day.” Her  reply  was  “Rain?  Who  knows?” 
“But  the  morning  paper  says  so  under  weather 
probabilities.”  “Morning  paper?  Dear  me! 
What  does  the  morning  paper  know  about 
what  Hananim  will  do?” 

Immediately  when  the  Bible  is  read,  “In  the 
beginning  some  One  created  the  heavens  and 
the  earth”,  they  answer,  “Hananim.”  “Who 
is  angry  with  the  wicked  every  day?”  “God.” 
“The  heavens  declare  the  glory  of  Hananim ; 
and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handiwork.” 
But  to  tell  of  Hananim  coming  down  to  this 
poor  earth’s  manger,  and  living,  suffering, 
dying,  with  the  outcast  and  the  lost,  is  a story, 
for  the  East,  unreasonable,  impossible,  and  yet 
a story  that  grips  the  heart  and  compels  belief 
and  acceptance. 

Koreans  consult  the  Buddha  sometimes. 
Buddhism  has  been  here  since  3 72  A.  D.  and 
its  long  course  of  history  has  been  marked  by 
various  degrees  of  corruption  and  by  dark 


His  Revelation 


Buddhism 


8o 


Korea  in  Transition 


Varying 

Recognition 


deeds.  In  delightfully  secluded  corners  and  in 
the  shade  and  quiet  of  the  hills  are  its  temples. 
So  separated  are  they  from  the  wicked  world 
and  so  shut  away  into  the  silent  lands  of  medi- 
tation and  repose,  that  you  would  think  them 
the  habitation  of  the  holy,  but  it  proves  not  to 
be  so.  The  phrase  Na-mu  A-mi-ta-bul  is  the 
chief  article  of  their  creed,  and  their  chief 
forms  observed  are  celibacy,  vegetarianism, 
and  the  non-taking  of  life.  The  Buddhist  has 
always  been  careful  to  have  a shaved  head  in 
a land  of  topknots  and  his  bowing  and  manner 
of  speech  differ  from  the  ordinary  “worldling” 
( sok-in ) as  he  calls  him. 

The  fall  of  the  Koryu  dynasty  in  1391  A.  D. 
was  supposed  to  be  due  to  the  corrupt  influence 
of  Buddhism,  and  since  then  the  state  has 
looked  down  upon  it  as  an  outcast  religion. 
No  Buddhist  priest  was  admitted  within  the 
walls  of  Seoul  for  500  years,  and  even  to-day 
the  Confucianist  uses  the  lowest  and  most  dis- 
respectful forms  of  speech  to  the  Buddhist 
wherever  he  meets  him.  Yet  in  times  of 
trouble,  as  when  no  son  is  born  heir  of  the 
family,  or  when  worries  or  anxieties  beset  the 
Palace,  there  come  calls  on  the  Buddha,  and  re- 
quests that  his  priests  pray.  Many  a time  have 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  8i 


these  seasons  of  prayer  kept  the  writer  awake 
at  night — “Om  chci-ri  chu-ri  cliun-jc  sa- pa-ha. 
Om  man-hi  pad-mi  hum,  om  man-hi  pad-mi 
hum.”  The  priest  knows  not  the  meaning  of 
what  he  says.  They  are  set  sounds  that  have 
passed  down  to  him  as  propitious  and  lucky, 
and  like  a pent-up  and  bottled  cask,  once  start 
the  flow  and  he  goes  on  with  the  most  astound- 
ing rapidity  seemingly  forever  and  forever. 

What  shall  we  say  in  commendation  of 
Korea’s  form  of  Buddhism  ? Perhaps  it  is  that 
Sakyamuni  has  taught  a lesson  in  tenderness 
and  compassion.  There  is  a gentleness  in  some 
of  the  old  priests  and  a dreamy  mystic  some- 
thing that  inspires  one  to  go  softly,  and  to  put 
all  iron  and  hardness  out  of  the  soul.  But 
Buddhism,  with  its  gilded  idols  and  its  awful 
representation  of  the  Ten  Hells  that  await  mor- 
tals and  its  unintelligible  litany  and  its  immoral 
priesthood,  constitutes  but  a poor  portal  for 
the  soul  of  man. 

Of  Taoism  there  is  almost  nothing.  Some 
few  followers  read  the  Old  Philosopher.  “The 
way  that  can  be  walked  on  is  not  the  eternal 
way,  the  name  that  can  be  named  is  not  the 
eternal  name.”  Some  in  the  spirit  of  this 
sect  pray  the  long  night  through  to  find  God, 


Influence  and 
Value 


Taoism 


82 


Korea  in  Transition 


Shamanism 


to  get  into  touch  with  divinity.  Our  dear 
brother,  S.  J.  Keel,  was  once  a Taoist.  Chang- ja 
one  of  the  sages  of  this  religion  says:  “The 
number  one  man  is  unconscious  of  his  body, 
the  spiritual  man  knows  nothing  of  merit,  the 
holy  man  thinks  not  of  his  name.”  Here  is  a 
verse  of  his,  the  opening  poem  in  his  book  of 
writings.  It  pictures  the  greatness  of  the 
great  as  compared  with  the  mediocrity  of  the 
mediocre  who  are  looking  on. 

“There  is  a fish  in  the  Great  North  Sea 
Whose  name  is  Kon; 

His  size  is  a bit  unknown  to  me. 

Though  he  measures  a good  ten  thousand  li 
Till  his  wings  are  grown, 

And  then  he’s  a bird  of  enormous  sail, 

With  an  endless  back  and  a ten-mile  tail. 

And  he  covers  the  heavens  with  one  great  veil. 
When  he  flies  off  home." 

A strange,  dreamy,  elfish,  Rip  Van  Winkle 
kind  of  doctrine  is  Taoism.  Some  scholars  in 
China  think  they  find  in  its  teaching  a relation 
to  the  Hebrew  Bible  and  intimation  of  the 
Trinity,  but  Koreans  see  no  such  resemblance, 
and  it  is  a dead  cult  as  far  as  the  peninsula  is 
concerned. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  an- 
cestor worship  occupies  the  whole  spiritual 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  83 


realm  of  Korea.  It  is  the  great  religion  of  the 
people ; it  is  the  essential  belief  of  the  orthodox, 
the  all-necessary  form  to  observe  and  follow, 
if  one  would  be  admitted  to  the  society  of  the 
holy.  You  are  required  to  be  an  ancestor  wor- 
shiper, but  you  are  not  required  to  be  a spiritual 
medium,  or  an  exorcist,  or  a believer  in  hill 
gods,  or  dragons,  or  divination,  or  star  influ- 
ences. Nevertheless  the  whole  land  is  shad- 
owed by  these  as  was  Egypt  by  the  swarms  of 
locusts  which  came  up  to  strip  her.  Mrs.  Bishop 
says  demon-worship  costs  Korea  one  million 
two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  gold 
per  annum.1 

A graphic  and  correct  picture  of  spirit  exist- 
ences in  Korea  is  touched  off  by  the  pen  of 
Dr.  George  Heber  Jones:  “In  Korean  belief, 
earth,  air,  and  sea  are  peopled  by  demons. 
They  haunt  every  umbrageous  tree,  shady  ra- 
vine, crystal  spring,  and  mountain  crest.  On 
green  hill-slopes,  in  peaceful  agricultural  val- 
leys, in  grassy  dells,  on  wooded  uplands,  by 
lake  and  stream,  by  road  and  river,  in  north, 
south,  east,  and  west,  they  abound,  making 
malignant  sport  out  of  human  destinies.  They 
are  on  the  roof,  ceiling,  fireplace,  kang,  and 


Belief  in 
Demons 


1 Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  403. 


84 


Korea  in  Transition 


Revengeful 

Spirits 


beam.  They  fill  the  chimney,  the  shed,  the 
living-room,  the  kitchen,  they  are  on  every 
shelf  and  jar.  In  thousands  they  waylay  the 
traveler  as  he  leaves  home,  beside  him,  behind 
him,  dancing  in  front  of  him,  whirring  over 
his  head,  crying  out  upon  him  from  earth  and 
air  and  water.  They  are  numbered  by  thou- 
sands of  billions,  and  it  has  been  well  said  that 
their  ubiquity  is  an  unholy  travesty  of  the  Di- 
vine omnipresence.  This  belief  keeps  the 
Korean  in  a perpetual  state  of  nervous  appre- 
hension, it  surrounds  him  with  indefinite  ter- 
rors, and  it  may  truly  be  said  of  him  that  he 
passes  the  time  of  his  sojourning  here  in  fear. 
Every  Korean  home  is  subject  to  demons,  here, 
there,  and  everywhere.  They  touch  the  Korean 
at  every  point  in  his  life,  making  his  well-being 
depend  on  a series  of  acts  of  propitiation,  and 
they  avenge  every  omission  with  merciless  se- 
verity, keeping  him  under  the  yoke  of  bondage 
from  birth  to  death.” 

The  spirits  of  the  dead  who  have  passed 
from  earth  under  some  wrong  or  other,  keep 
after  the  living  till  their  wrongs  are  avenged  a 
thousandfold.  Many  of  them  have  not  found 
a resting-place,  neither  in  beast  nor  man,  and 
so  remain  at  large,  more  dangerous  by  far  to 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  85 


meet  than  even  a striped  man-eater.  Terrors 
untold  accompany  these  vindictive  spirits,  who 
are  loose  and  on  the  warpath.  Sickness,  mad- 
ness, poverty,  disgrace,  death,  mark  their 
course.  In  each  county  there  is  a sacrificial 
place  set  apart  called  yo-dan , where  all  the  dis- 
contented, displeased,  distracted  spirits  are 
wont  to  congregate  and  be  sacrificed  to.  It  is 
a dangerous  business,  for  any  slip  in  the  cere- 
mony brings  down  the  pack  on  the  head  of  the 
director  of  ceremonies.  Again  they  are  heard 
crying  at  night ; sometimes  they  become  visible, 
but  usually  they  are  hid  from  mortal  view. 
Some  are  big  and  some  are  little.  Some  guard 
a whole  village  and  have  to  be  propitiated  or 
else  they  smite  it  with  typhus  and  the  like. 
Some  possess  the  hills  and  keep  bit  and  bridle 
on  the  tiger.  If  these  hill  gods  be  neglected 
or  insulted,  they  let  loose  their  woes  on  the 
market-place  and  we  hear  of  children  being 
carried  off  and  eaten  or  bitten  by  snakes,  or 
other  mischances  befalling  them.  There  are 
hill  “bosses”  or  village  “bosses”  who  are  in 
touch  with  the  pit  itself,  and  can  call  forth 
legions  on  their  own  behalf. 

Pan-su,  or  blind  exorcists,  ply  their  trade  of 
casting  out  demons.  They  possess  themselves 


Exorcists 


86  Korea  in  Transition 

of  some  great  name,  like  that  of  George  Wash- 
ington, for  example,  and  by  its  repetition  and 
the  telling  over  of  his  sayings,  out  go  the 
devils.  Then  there  are  women  called  Mu-tang, 
mediums  who  yield  themselves  up  to  some 
demon  or  other,  and  then  utter  prophetic 
words,  or  words  that  reveal  mysteries. 

The  tokgabi  is  half-demon  and  half-elf,  al- 
ways on  the  go,  and  up  to  all  sorts  of  capers. 
He  will  frequently  cut  off  a Korean’s  topknot 
when  he  is  not  looking,  or  walking  peacefully 
all  unawares.  The  man  is  unconscious  of  it 
till  he  feels  the  top  of  his  head  and  says,  “Hello, 
who  is  it?  Is  it  I or  a Buddhist?  Not  a Bud- 
dhist? No,  then  I.  Alack,  the  tokgabi  has  been 
here  and  my  topknot  is  gone.”  They  push 
covers  inside  of  dishes,  they  throw  sand  against 
the  window-paper,  they  play  with  fire  at  night 
out  on  the  mountainsides. 

Here,  there,  and  everywhere  in  Korea  are 
posts  seen  by  the  wayside,  cut  roughly  with 
grinning  teeth,  horrible  face,  and  most  fero- 
cious eyes  and  ears.  They  are  placed  there  to 
keep  devils  from  passing.  Usually  they  are 
called  by  the  name  of  General,  General  this, 
and  General  that.  Frequently  they  stand  in 
pairs,  side  by  side,  or  facing  each  other,  one 


Royal  Tomb  and  Guardians 


Spirit  Posts 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  87 


the  General  and  the  other  the  General’s  wife. 
Down  his  front  runs  the  inscription,  “The  Gen- 
eral of  Heaven,”  while  down  the  front  of  his 
wife  it  says,  “Mrs.  General  of  Hell.”  These 
were  the  strong  defense  of  Korea’s  poor  people 
through  the  generations  gone  by  against  the 
countless  forces  of  the  unseen  world. 

The  dragon  is  king  of  all  scaled  and  crawl- 
ing creatures.  He  mounts  high  up  to  heaven, 
as  when  we  see  a waterspout ; he  goes  down  to 
the  unfathomed  depths  of  the  deepest  pool.  He 
is  a monster  divinity,  is  the  dragon.  He  exists 
under  the  hills,  where  his  back  is  often  pro- 
tected by  a pavement  of  stone,  where  the  road 
is  likely  to  cut  into  the  quick.  St.  George 
may  have  slain  him  in  England,  but  he  flour- 
ishes in  the  Orient  still.  On  Japanese  coins  is 
seen  his  clawy  form  twisted  and  mixed  with 
many  coils.  On  the  Chinese  flag  he  still  breasts 
the  breezes.  In  the  most  honored  of  Korean 
sacred  books,  The  Canon  of  Changes,  I read 
such  a sentence  as  this : “The  sixth  line  shows 
dragons  fighting  in  the  wild,  their  blood  is 
purple  and  yellow.”  Yong,  the  dragon  name, 
is  in  all  mouths,  from  the  king  on  the  throne 
to  the  maid  servant  that  is  behind  the  mill. 

Enough  has  been  told  to  give  the  reader  an 


The  Dragon 


A World  of  Fear 


88 


Korea  in  Transition 


Collective  Spirit 
Host 


Gospel  Picture 
of  Christ’s 
Power 


idea  of  the  terrible  world  in  which  the  Korean 
has  lived  and  lives.  Every  moment  of  his  pil- 
grimage has  been  under  the  dominion  of  fear. 
As  was  said  before,  he  becomes  a fatalist  natu- 
rally, what  comes  to  pass  must  come.  His 
birth-year,  birth-month,  birthday,  birth-hour, 
are  in  possession  of  the  spirits,  and  they  hold 
them  at  their  mercy,  to  toss  about  or  worry  as 
the  tiger  does  the  unfortunate  village  dog  that 
has  been  caught  napping. 

Gather  this  world  together  as  it  has  passed 
the  reader  in  review,  and  there  will  be  the 
ancestral  spirits,  mean  enough  and  whimsical 
beyond  all  reason,  sufficient  to  make  life  a pil- 
grimage of  awful  suspense;  but  add  to  them 
demons,  goblins,  elfs,  dragons,  hill-gods,  and 
what  not  and  you  have  old  Korea. 

Into  this  world  comes  the  missionary  with 
his  Book  and  its  stories  about  demons.  The 
Korean  reads  and  at  once  is  attracted.  Plenty 
of  demons  in  the  New  Testament,  thousands  of 
them,  but  they  are  all  on  the  run;  down  the 
slopes  of  Galilee  they  go1 ; away  from  Christ’s 
presence  they  fly,  till  the  blind  sees  and  the  soul 
is  lighted  up2 ; hosts  of  them,  howling  devils3 ; 
and  devils  that  shriek  and  foam  at  the  mouth.4 


Matt.  viiL  32.  2 Matt.  xii.  22.  • Mark  v.  15.  4 Luka  ix.  39. 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  89 


Never  before  in  the  history  of  Korea  was 
the  world  of  demons  seen  smitten  hip  and 
thigh.  This  Wonder-worker  is  omnipotent,  for 
verily  he  has  issued  a reprieve  to  all  prisoners, 
all  who  will  accept  of  him,  and  has  let  them 
out  of  hell.  Throughout  the  land  prayers  go 
up  for  the  demon-possessed  in  his  name,  and 
they  are  delivered;  prayers  for  healing,  and 
the  sick  are  cured;  prayers  for  the  poor,  and 
God  sends  means. 

Was  there  ever  a land  more  needy,  and 
where  was  a message  ever  dreamed  of  so  mirac- 
ulously suited  to  the  need?  Some  of  us  have 
come  East  to  learn  how  wondrously  Jesus  can 
set  free  the  most  hopeless  of  lost  humanity.  We 
have  come  to  realize  that  there  are  demons  in- 
deed in  this  world,  and  that  Jesus  can  cast  them 
out ; to  learn  once  more  that  the  Bible  is  true, 
and  that  God  is  back  of  it;  to  know  that  his 
purpose  is  to  save  Asia,  and  to  do  an  important 
part  of  the  work  through  young  Americans, 
Canadians,  Britons,  and  others,  who  will 
humbly  bow  before  him  and  say,  “Lord,  here 
am  I;  send  me.” 


His 

Omnipotence  in 
Korea 


Message  Suited 
to  the  Land 


9° 


Korea  in  Transition 


SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  III 

Aim  : To  Appreciate  the  Insufficiency  of  Korea’s 
Religion  to  Meet  the  New  Needs 

I.  The  Good  and  Evil  of  Ancestor  Worship. 

i.  Name  all  the  good  points  that  you  can  find 
in  ancestor  worship. 

2*  Should  an  effort  be  made  to  incorporate  any 
of  these  points  in  Korean  Christianity?  If 
so,  how? 

3.  What  effect  would  it  have  upon  real  rever- 
ence for  the  dead  to  imagine  that  the  position 
of  a grave  might  bring  disease  to  the  living? 

4.  To  what  extent  should  reverence  for  the  dead 
be  allowed  to  interfere  with  business  and 
travel,  and  to  what  extent  not? 

5.  What  recommendation  or  criticism  have  you 
for  the  relations  of  parents  to  children  in 
Korea? 

6. *  In  what  ways  does  ancestral  worship  affect 

the  position  of  woman  in  society? 

7. *  Do  you  think  that  missionaries  are  justified 

in  refraining  from  all  attacks  upon  ancestor 
worship?  Defend  your  views. 

II.  The  Mental  and  Moral  Confusion  of  Superstition. 

8*  Try  to  think  out  in  detail  what  practical  dif- 
ference it  would  make  in  your  life  if  you 
really  believed  in  the  existence  of  imps  and 
spirits. 

9.  What  possible  defense  would  you  have  if  evil 
spirits  attacked  you? 

10.  What  effect  would  a belief  in  spirits  have 


The  Beliefs  of  the  People  91 

upon  a man’s  resoluteness  in  confronting 
difficulties  ? 

11.  What  effect  would  it  have  upon  plans  for  the 
future? 

12.  In  what  way  does  this  belief  stand  as  an  ob- 
stacle to  science? 

13.  What  evils  arise  from  attributing  every  mis- 
fortune to  the  arbitrary  displeasure  of  some 
spirit  ? 

14.  What  do  you  think  would  be  the  relative  value 
of  the  scientific  and  religious  method  in  com- 
bating the  belief  in  spirits? 

15. *  Sketch  the  line  of  argument  that  you  would 

employ  in  dealing  with  believers  in  evil 
spirits. 

III.  The  Message  of  Christianity. 

16.  How  would  you  utilize  the  Korean  idea  of 
Hananim  in  teaching  Christianity? 

17.  Where  would  you  expect  to  find  your  greatest 
difficulty  in  using  this  idea? 

18.  Contrast  the  message  of  Buddhism  and  Chris- 
tianity for  a nation  in  political  distress. 

19.  Contrast  the  external  and  public  manifesta- 
tions of  Protestant  Christianity  with  those  of 
religion  in  Korea.  What  elements  are  most 
peculiar  to  each? 

20. *  What  principal  needs  of  Korea  in  the  way  of 

institutional  and  social  life  will  Christianity 
supply? 

21. *  How  will  Christianity  remove  the  evil  and 

supplement  the  good  of  Korean  life? 


92 


Korea  in  Transition 


REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  III 

I.  Ancestor  Worship. 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  ch.  VI. 

Gale : Korean  Sketches,  pp.  215,  216. 

Underwood : The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  79-81. 

Noble:  Ewa:  A Tale  of  Korea,  pp.  57-60. 

II.  Spirit  Worship. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XXX. 

Bishop : Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  290,  399- 
426,  443,  444. 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  ch.  VIII. 
Underwood:  The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  85-94. 

Noble:  Ewa:  A Tale  of  Korea,  pp.  49-53. 


SOCIAL  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 


91 


Woman’s  rights  are  few  and  depend  on  custom  rather 
than  law.  She  now  possesses  the  right  of  remarriage,  and 
that  of  remaining  unmarried  till  she  is  sixteen,  and  she 
can  refuse  permission  to  her  husband  for  his  concubines  to 
occupy  the  same  house  with  herself.  She  is  powerless  to 
divorce  her  husband,  conjugal  fidelity,  typified  by  the  goose, 
the  symbolic  figure  at  a wedding,  being  a feminine  virtue 
solely.  Her  husband  may  cast  her  off  for  seven  reasons — 
incurable  disease,  theft,  childlessness,  infidelity,  jealousy,  in- 
compatibility with  her  parents-in-law,  and  a quarrelsome 
disposition.  She  may  be  sent  back  to  her  father  s house  for 
any  one  of  these  causes.  . . . Domestic  happiness  is  a thing 
she  does  not  look  for.  The  Korean  has  a house,  but  no  home. 
The  husband  has  his  life  apart;  common  ties  of  friendship 
and  external  interest  are  not  known.  His  pleasure  is  taken 
in  company  with  male  acquaintances  and  gesang;  and  the 
marriage  relationship  is  briefly  summarized  in  the  remark 
of  a Korean  gentleman  in  conversation  with  me  on  the  sub- 
ject, “We  marry  our  wives,  but  we  love  our  concubines.” 

— Isabella  Bird  Bishop 

“Before  Christ  came  into  our  home,”  said  one  of  our  native 
Christian  women,  "I  never  knew  what  it  was  to  eat  a meal 
in  the  same  room  with  my  husband.  His  meals  were  served 
to  him  in  the  sarang  (reception  room),  while  I had  mine  on 
the  earth  floor  of  the  kitchen  He  always  spoke  to  me  in  the 
lowest  grade  of  servant  talk  and  often  called  me  by  insulting 
names.  Sometimes  when  he  was  angry  or  drunk,  he  used  to 
beat  me,  and  my  life  was  as  miserable  as  that  of  most  all  the 
heathen  Korean  women.  But  now  that  Christ  has  come 
into  our  hearts,  everything  is  changed.  My  husband  has  not 
struck  me  once  since  he  became  a Christian.  We  have  our 
meals  and  prayers  together  in  the  sarang,  and  now  he  always 
speaks  kindly  to  me,  addressing  me  as  an  equal.  The  past 
life  was  a bad  dream;  the  present  is  a foretaste  of  heaven. 
We  did  not  know  what  love  was  until  Christ  came  into  our 
home  to  teach  us.” 

■ — George  Heber  Jones 


04 


IV 

SOCIAL  LIFE  AND  CUSTOMS 

Society  has  rested  on  five  strong  pillars, 
called  Oh-ryun.  They  were  chiseled  out  of 
ancient  marble,  by  unknown  hands,  in  prehis- 
toric times,  and  have  stood  high  through  all 
the  ages,  holding  the  four  comers  of  the  East- 
ern world,  and  propping  up  the  middle  beams 
thereof.  The  Five  Laws  they  are  sometimes 
called,  and  on  them  rests  the  world  of  Con- 
fucius. Recently  a Mr.  Yi  Wung-geung,  a 
Christian,  and  one  of  Korea’s  most  noted 
scholars,  has  written  a reader  for  girls,  and  in 
the  opening  chapter  he  begins : “The  doctrine 
of  men  rests  on  the  Five  Laws.  Between  father 
and  son  it  requires  chin  (friendship) ; between 
king  and  courtier,  eui  (righteousness) ; be- 
tween husband  and  wife,  pyul  (deference)  ; 
between  old  and  young,  saw  (degree) ; between 
friends,  shin  (faith).” 

Allied  to  these  are  the  Five  Virtues,  in,  eui, 
ye,  chi,  shin,  or  love,  righteousness,  ceremony, 
knowledge,  faith.  Herein  the  whole  of  su- 


The  Oh-ryun,  or 
Five  Laws 


The  Five  Virtue. 


95 


96 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  Five 
Elements 


A Faithful  Son 


perior  teaching  was  summed  up,  and  concern- 
ing these  millions  of  pages  have  been  written, 
and  armies  of  Chinese  characters  have  been 
called  into  requisition  to  tell  all  that  was  to  be 
told.  I n-eui-y  e-chi-shin  is  pronounced  as  one 
word,  and  all  the  people  use  it.  The  coolie  as 
well  as  the  statesman  or  gifted  man  of  letters 
says,  “ I n-eui-y  e-chi-shin” . Any  nation  exem- 
plifying it  is  civilized  and  any  failing  to  ob- 
serve it  is  barbarous. 

Another  five  must  be  called  in,  and  then  we 
shall  have  the  fifteen  that  round  out  the  circle. 
These  are  the  Original  Elements,  metal,  wood, 
water,  fire,  earth,  keum-mok-su-wha-do , also  a 
single  word  in  its  frequency  of  use  and  wide- 
ness of  application.  These  are  called  the  O/i- 
hang,  and  what  is  there  that  cannot  be  ex- 
plained by  them?  The  Oh-ryun  (Five  Laws), 
the  Oh-sang  (Five  Virtues),  and  the  Oh-hang 
(Five  Elements)  govern  the  Korean  world  of 
thought.  The  Five  Elements  serve  as  founda- 
tion, the  Five  Laws  as  the  pillars,  and  the  Five 
Virtues  as  the  firmament  above. 

These  might  be  designated  the  soul  of 
Korean  society.  How  many  stories  are  told 
to  illustrate  the  Five  Laws!  For  example, 
such  and  such  a lad  was  good  to  his  feeble 


Social  Life  and  Customs 


97 


mother,  and  faithful  in  bowing-  before  his 
father’s  grave.  He  was  dogged  by  every  cir- 
cumstance of  evil ; poverty  was  after  him  with 
hungry  eyes ; winter  was  upon  him,  biting  cold ; 
sickness  and  ill  luck  tried  him  to  the  bitter 
end ; but  through  it  all  he  cared  for  the  needy 
one,  and  walked  daily  through  the  snow  to  the 
mound  on  the  hillside.  As  a reward  for  such 
virtue,  an  angel  appeared  to  him,  crowned  him 
with  high  honor,  and  pronounced  wealth  and 
happiness  his  forever.  He  married  a beautiful 
princess,  had  untold  riches  and  many  sons,  and 
was  happy  ever  afterward. 

A set  of  five  readers  prepared  some  hundred 
years  ago,  abound  in  such  stories.  Undoubt- 
edly a strong  steadying  influence  has  been  exer- 
cised on  the  state  and  on  society  by  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Oh-ryun,  so  that  courtiers  have 
been  loyal,  children  filial,  wives  faithful,  age 
honored,  and  friendship  sacred. 

To  illustrate  the  Five  Virtues,  love,  right- 
eousness, ceremony,  knowledge,  faith,  let 
one  story  suffice,  written  by  a governor  of 
north  Korea,  one  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago.  “In  the  late  autumn  a peasant  caught 
two  wild  geese,  clipped  their  wings,  and  gave 
them  to  me.  I kept  them  in  the  court,  where 


Influence  of  the 
Five  Laws 


Wild  Qeese 
Illustrating  the 
Classic  Virtues 


98 


Korea  in  Transition 


Relation  of  the 
Elements  to  Life 


the  steward  looked  after  them.  One  day 
he  came  to  me  and  said,  ‘These  birds  are 
better-flavored  than  quail  or  pheasant;  I 
advise  your  excellency  to  kill  and  eat.’  ‘Kill 
and  eat?  Out  on  you,  man,’  said  I,  ‘Have  you 
never  noticed  wild  geese,  how  they  fly,  for  ex- 
ample? They  preserve  the  strictest  ye  (cere- 
mony, order) ; when  they  mate  there  is  no 
disorder  or  impropriety,  they  understand  eui 
(what  is  right)  ; in  their  migrations  they  fol- 
low the  warmth  of  the  sun,  they  have  chi  (wis- 
dom) ; though  they  come  and  go  you  can  al- 
ways count  on  their  passing  at  the  right  time, 
that  is  shin  (keeping  faith)  ; they  never  make 
war  on  other  creatures  with  bill  or  claw,  that 
borders  on  in  (love).  It  is  a bird  of  the  sacred 
classics,  and  would  never  do  to  make  soup  of 
like  chicken  or  quail.’  ” 

As  to  the  Oh-hang — metal,  wood,  water, 
fire,  earth — they  play  a most  important  part  in 
all  the  affairs  of  life.  They  underlie  every- 
thing, are  the  foundation  in  fact,  not  only  of 
material  things,  but  of  domestic  life  and  spirit- 
ual existence  as  well.  In  the  case  of  a marriage 
they  are  anxiously  called  in,  shuffled,  and  con- 
sulted. If  a young  man  whose  element  is 
wood  is  mated  to  a metal  girl,  he  will  suffer 


Social  Life  and  Customs 


99 


as  wood  does  from  ax  and  saw  and  chisel. 
If  he  be  married  to  a fire  girl,  nothing  but 
total  destruction  awaits  him.  Earth  and  water 
are  the  only  safe  elements  with  which  wood  can 
mate.  All  the  domestic  unhappiness  of  olden 
time  was  explained  on  the  principle  of  the  Five 
Elements  and  bad  mating.  To  say  that  the 
Oh-hang  enters  into  every  detail  of  life  is 
scarcely  putting  it  too  strongly. 

Society,  based  on,  built  up,  and  covered  by 
these  sets  of  laws,  got  itself  into  a fixed  and 
immovable  condition.  The  compass  of  the 
law  governing  was  so  small,  and  the  conditions 
enclosed  so  multifarious,  that  no  independent 
move  could  be  taken  by  any  one  member  of 
society  without  disturbing  all  of  the  others. 
“As  it  was,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be,”  was 
written  large  over  all  things  Korean ; every 
wheel  in  the  brain  was  stopped  except  those 
moved  by  Oh-hang,  or  Oh-ryun,  or  Oh-sang. 
Independent  thought  was  not  dreamed  of. 
Korea  has  scored  no  invention,  no  discovery,  no 
advance,  in  a thousand  years.  Backward,  ever 
backward  the  nation  has  gone,  little  by  little, 
in  its  unconscious  existence,  saying  over  and 
over  to  itself : “As  it  was,  is  now,  and  ever 
shall  be;  as  it  was,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be.” 


A Fixed  Soda 
Condition 


IOO 


Korea  in  Transition 


Custom 


Whether  in  architecture,  or  in  education,  or 
in  dress,  or  in  other  affairs  of  life,  custom  rules. 
Custom  explains  everything. 

“What  about  this  absurdity?” 

“Oh,  it’s  custom.” 

“Yes,  but  see  here,  why  are  the  dead  propped 
up  on  sticks  and  not  buried?” 

“Oh,  it’s  custom.” 

“Do  you  sometimes  marry  off  children  as 
early  as  nine  years  of  age?” 

“Yes,  that’s  custom.” 

The  reader  must  learn  this  word  if  he  would 
understand  old  Korea,  and  if  he  would  read 
into  much  of  the  life  of  the  East  still.  The 
forefather  may  have  been  an  imbecile,  or  may 
have  walked  in  his  sleep,  but  what  he  did  has 
come  down,  down  to  the  present,  and  custom 
maintains  that  it  is  the  sane  and  right  thing 
to  do. 

“Why  do  you  feed  all  these  idle  tramps,  who 
come  calling  at  your  door,  and  you  a poor 
man  ?”  I once  asked  of  my  host. 

He  replied  “It’s  custom,  and  for  my  life  I 
can’t  get  out  of  it.” 

“What  about  these  dolmens  set  up  all 
through  these  valleys  here  like  tables  of  the 
gods,  what  do  they  mean  ?” 


Social  Life  and  Customs 


ioi 


“They  were  set  up  by  the  Chinese  invader, 
thousands  of  years  ago,  to  crush  out  the  ground 
influence  that  brought  forth  Korean  warriors.” 

“You  mean  that  they  have  stifled  out  the  life 
of  the  nation  for  all  these  centuries  ?” 

“Yes.” 

“Then  why  don’t  you  roll  them  off  and  get 
back  your  lost  vigor?” 

“Oh,  that’s  no  use  now,  never  do.” 

“As  it  was,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be,”  is 
the  only  reply. 

In  Korea  the  most  distressing  condition  of  a stifled  world 
all  was  this  strangling  of  independent  thought. 

There  was  ceremony,  gentleness,  deference, 
kindness,  appreciation  of  fun  and  humor,  but 
for  comparison  and  conclusion  and  action  there 
was  no  room.  One  longed  to  drill  a hole  into 
the  brain,  pour  in  oil  or  anything  that  would 
lubricate,  and  set  the  wheels  moving.  They 
are  moving  now,  however,  and  some  of  them 
with  fine  freedom.  An  Edison  may  little  by 
little  come  forth  from  the  shadows  and  be 
born,  but  for  three  thousand  years  it  was  as 
impossible  to  bring  forth  such  as  he  as  for  a 
scrub  pine  to  grow  glorious  persimmons. 

We  shall  look  for  a moment  at  the  home  The  Head  of  the 

Family 

life,  ever  remembering  these  bands  of  iron  and 


102 


Korea  in  Transition 


brass.  The  father  is  the  lord  high  executioner. 
The  Oh-ryun  says  that  he  shall  be  revered  al- 
most as  a god  by  his  posterity.  He  is  greater 
even  than  the  king.  What  he  says  is  law,  and 
what  he  does  must  be  acknowledged  respect- 
fully and  agreed  to.  While  the  majority  of 
Korean  fathers  are  kind  to  their  children,  cus- 
tom paints  him  a Nebuchadnezzar  with  a fiery 
furnace  prepared  for  other  members  of  the 
household.  He  talks  in  terms  of  command  to 
all  others  about  him,  as  we  might  say  in  Eng- 
lish, “Come  here.  Go  there.  Sit  down.  Stand 
up.  Bring  my  pipe.”  The  Korean  language 
is  rich  in  tones  and  expressions  of  high  com- 
mand, and  the  father  is  a past  master  of  the 
whole  subject.  When  you  live  near  him,  watch 
his  daily  life,  and  catch  the  accents  of  his  voice, 
you  think  of  Sitting  Bull,  the  Turkish  Sultan, 
the  Grand  Vizier,  the  Czar,  and  yet  none  of 
these  seem  quite  to  describe  him. 

He  says,  “There’s  John  now,  he’s  three 
months  old;  I must  look  sharp  and  get  him 
betrothed.”  He  calls  in  a go-between  and  after 
various  seesawings,  consulting  of  Oh-hang.and 
casting  of  lots,  John  is  betrothed,  sometimes 
to  a girl  baby,  sometimes  to  one  already  six 
or  seven  years  old.  John  is  not  interested.  He 


Social  Life  and  Customs  103 

sleeps  hard  on  the  matting  and  awaits  his  fate. 
Mary  is  married  off  likewise.  Years  later, 
when  the  wedding-day  comes,  neither  one  nor 
other  thinks  of  entering  a protest  or  of  saying, 
“Why  was  I not  consulted?’’  John  grows  up 
to  be  just  the  same  as  his  father,  gives  his 
commands  like  a sea-captain  from  the  bridge, 
and  settles  his  son  before  his  mother  knows 
what  he  looks  like.  Thus  are  the  children 
dealt  with. 

As  for  the  wife,  when  time  wears  on  her  and 
her  cheek  grows  wan  and  faded,  her  lord  high 
executioner  calls  in  another  woman  to  share 
the  fortunes  of  the  home.  The  wife  bows  in 
humble  submission,  and  uses  high  and  respect- 
ful language  in  acknowledging  this  new  order 
of  affairs.  No  wonder  girls  in  Korea  are  sorry 
to  be  born  a member  of  their  sex,  and  everv 
boy  walks  in  high  hopes  of  his  innings  coming 
later. 

The  woman’s  place  is,  first  as  daughter,  one 
of  contempt.  A missionary’s  little  six-year-old 
once  came  to  him  with  tears  in  her  eyes  and 
said : 

“Papa,  I have  a question.” 

“Yes,  what  is  it?” 

“Are  you  sorry  that  I wasn’t  a boy?” 


The  Wife 


How  Daughters 
Are  Viewed 


104 


Korea  in  Transition 


At  the  Period  of 
'Marriage 


The  Mother 


“Well  I should  say  not,  I wouldn’t  trade  you 
for  a dozen  boys.  But  why  do  you  ask?” 

She  said,  “The  Koreans  were  talking  just 
now,  and  they  pointed  at  me  and  said,  ‘What  a 
pity  that  she  wasn’t  a boy !’  ” 

The  Korean  woman  is  married  at  last,  but 
not  with  any  high  hilarity  such  as  attends  wed- 
ding-days at  home.  She  goes  with  blood-red 
marks  painted  on  her  face,  and  her  eyes  sealed, 
like  a wooden  doll,  turned  this  way  and  that, 
stood  up,  set  down,  moved  here  and  there, 
pulled  and  pushed  through  all  the  wooden  cere- 
mony of  marriage,  till  at  last  she  emerges 
daughter-in-law,  with  three  powers  set  over 
her  head,  husband,  mother-in-law,  and  father- 
in-law.  Young  wives  are  not  always  unhappy, 
but  it  is  no  thanks  to  custom  or  circumstance 
that  they  are  not. 

The  mother  is  an  important  member  of  the 
family  in  her  relation  to  children  only.  If 
she  has  no  son,  alas  for  her!  better  had  she 
never  been  born.  Not  only  is  she  condemned 
by  her  husband  and  every  member  of  the  clan, 
but  she  condemns  herself,  and  no  ray  of  sun- 
shine ever  gladdens  her  broken  soul.  She  is 
Rachel,  and  Hannah,  and  Elizabeth,  as  they 
were  before  joy  visited  them.  In  this  matter 


Groom  Returning  with  His  Bride 


Bridal  Feast  after  the  Ceremony 


Social  Life  and  Customs  105 

the  spirit  of  the  opposite  seems  to  rule  from 
that  of  the  West.  Happy  the  woman  who  has 
a great  circle  of  posterity  to  look  down  upon. 
“Who  is  the  most  noted  woman  in  Europe?” 
asked  the  childless  Madame  de  Stael  of  Na- 
poleon. “She  who  has  reared  the  largest 
family,”  was  the  sharp  reply,  and  Korea  would 
say,  “Amen.” 

Woman  is  a useful  member  of  society,  for 
material  interests  hang  on  her  hand.  Once, 
on  a walk  by  the  city  wall,  we  saw  a man  sit- 
ting on  a stone  weeping.  His  was  a full- 
mouthed,  heart-broken  cry,  as  though  the 
world  had  given  way  under  him.  “Why,” 
we  asked.  “Why  all  this  fuss?”  He  looked 
vacantly  at  us  for  a moment,  and  then  resumed 
where  he  had  left  off.  We  found  that  the 
trouble  was  about  a woman,  his  wife,  she  had 
left  him.  “How  he  must  have  loved  her  to  cry 
like  that,”  remarked  a lady  in  the  party.  It 
was  translated,  but  he  resented  it,  “Loved  her? 
I never  loved  her,  but  she  made  my  clothes  and 
cooked  my  food ; what  shall  I do  ? boo-hoo-oo,” 
louder  and  more  impressively  than  ever. 

Thus  was,  yes,  and  still  is,  the  world  of 
woman,  but  mighty  changes  are  taking  place, 
and  underneath  the  framework  of  her  prison- 


woman  's 
Service  in 
Material  Things 


Changes  and 
Her 

Emancipation 


The  Family 
Circle 


106  Korea  in  Transition 

house  earthquakes  are  shaking.  She  is  to  be 
free,  but  what  will  her  freedom  mean?  Con- 
fucius never  guessed  the  place  of  woman  in 
society,  he  missed  the  mark  as  widely  as  the 
Russians  did  in  the  battle  of  Tsushima.  Jesus, 
in  the  face  of  all  the  ages  that  spoke  opposition, 
placed  her  where  God  would  have  her  and  there 
by  his  grace  she  stands.  She  has  been  the 
slave,  the  dog,  the  toy,  the  chattel,  the  con- 
venience of  men,  for  all  past  ages.  Now  new 
voices  are  heard  proclaiming  that  she  shall  be 
free. 

The  family  exists  but  not  the  circle.  There 
is  no  table  around  which  they  gather  for  meals, 
no  reading  nor  music,  no  evening  parties  which 
draw  them  together,  no  “At  Homes”,  no  family 
pew  in  which  to  sit  on  Sunday,  no  picnic  ex- 
cursions in  which  all  members  join.  The  mas- 
ter eats  by  himself,  the  wife  by  herself,  the 
sons  and  daughters  each  separately  and  alone. 
Because  of  this,  our  custom  of  conversing  at 
table,  and  allowing  the  talk  and  attention  to 
wander  all  over  the  universe,  while  semicon- 
sciously  engaged  in  the  serious  act  of  “eating 
rice,”  seems  very  absurd.  “When  you  eat-, 
eat,  and  when  you  talk,  talk,  but  why  try  both 
at  one  and  the  same  time?” 


Social  Life  and  Customs  107 

Korean  homes  are  in  a sense  open  to  all  the 
world.  Any  one  who  pleases  may  try  the  door, 
push  it  open,  and  come  in.  He  needs  no  first 
acquaintance,  and  no  introduction.  An  ordi- 
nary Korean  guest-room  is  free  to  all  the  world. 
On  the  other  hand  the  inner  quarters  are  sep- 
arate, and  for  a male  traveler  to  venture  there 
would  be  a breach  of  the  most  sacred  law  of 
society.  Into  this  outer  room,  come  gentle- 
men of  leisure,  tramps,  fortune-tellers,  Bud- 
dhist priests,  all  mankind,  in  fact.  Here  is 
located  the  high  seat  of  the  master.  As  you 
live  in  this  guest-room,  you  feel  the  fearful 
lack  of  privacy.  You  are  as  though  encamped 
on  the  open  highway,  under  the  gaze  of  all 
men.  If  you  write  a letter,  the  question  is, 
to  whom  are  you  writing  it.  “Why  do  you 
write  thus  and  thus  ? What  reference  is  here  ? 
Who  ? When  ?”  These  are  the  questions  that 
are  asked  by  those  who  look  over  your 
shoulder,  without  any  breach  of  proper  form 
or  infraction  of  the  eternal  law  that  governs 
things. 

It  becomes  a question  sometimes  with  the 
young  missionary  as  to  how  much  he  can  stand 
of  the  search-rays  of  the  human  eye,  and  if 
he  does  break  down  what  form  the  break- 


No  Privacy 


An  Ordeal  to  th« 
Missionary 


io8 


Korea  in  Transition 


Unreasonable* 

ness 


An  Illuminating 
Conversation 


down  will  take.  In  the  early  days  especially, 
from  chinks  and  corners  came  these  never- 
ceasing  search-lights.  This  is  the  East ; it  was 
born  so,  raised  so,  and  lives  so,  unconscious 
of  the  burden  of  it. 

The  regular  laws  of  cause  and  effect  seem  to 
be  out  of  gear  on  this  side  of  the  180th  merid- 
ian. Medical  practise  is  unreasonable.  If  you 
have  a pain,  a long  darning-needle  is  stuck  into 
you  to  relieve  it.  If  you  have  an  inner  sick- 
ness, the  doctor  will  ask  you  a question  or  two, 
then  he  will  multiply  earth  by  fire  and  divide 
by  wood,  and  the  result  will  be  a mixture  fit 
for  the  witch’s  caldron,  and  this  you  are  ex- 
pected to  steep  and  drink  from.  To  us  it  seems 
very  unreasonable.  Still,  we,  on  our  side,  to 
them  are  as  much  out  of  touch  with  their  fitness 
of  things  as  they  to  us. 

Recently  a conversation  between  twro  Ko- 
reans, Yi  and  Kim,  ran  thus: 

“I’ll  tell  you  the  reason,  Kim,  that  we 
Koreans  do  not  make  as  good  soldiers  as  the 
Japanese,  it’s  because  we  are  no  hands  at  shut- 
ting one  eye  and  keeping  the  other  open.  You 
must  shut  one  eye,  you  know,  to  aim.”  and  Yi 
screwed  up  his  face  into  a twisted  knot  to  get 
his  one  eye  to  close,  but  it  was  in  vain. 


Social  Life  and  Customs  109 

‘'Nothing  of  the  kind,”  replied  Kim,  “I  can 
shut  one  eye  and  leave  the  other  open  as  much 
as  I please.” 

“Then  let  me  see  you  do  it,”  said  Yi,  all  the 
time  trying  frantically  to  get  his  one  eye  to 
close  properly. 

“No  trouble  about  it,”  said  Kim,  rubbing 
the  ink  on  the  inkstone  and  then  dipping  his 
brush  and  tasting  it. 

“Then  I ask  you  to  do  it,  let  me  see  you 
shut  one  eye  now  and  leave  the  other  open.” 

“I  could  do  it  if  I had  a gun,”  said  Kim. 

“Oh,  yes,”  said  Yi,  “You  could  do  it  if  you 
had  a gun,  but  you  can’t  do  it  if  you  haven’t, 
and  the  Japanese  can.” 

One  of  the  curses  of  Korean  society  is  debt, 
and  the  persistency  with  which  all  people  run 
therein.  Every  man  would  seem  to  owe  the 
other.  A clear  statement,  with  all  paid  off  and 
none  due,  seems  never  to  have  been  heard  of. 
Borrowing  and  paying  huge  interest  has  been 
the  custom.  Twenty  years  ago  it  was  12  per 
cent,  a month.  Little  by  little  it  has  fallen  till 
to-day  it  is  4 or  3 or  2 per  cent,  monthly,  the 
lowest  on  record. 

Here  is  a note  from  the  Seoul  Press,  written 
in  1906:  “Koreans  are  not  misers;  they  are 


Debt 


Unduly 

Generous 


I IO 


Korea  in  Transition 


Habitual 
Kindness  and 
Official  Cruelty 


spendthrifts.  Money  glides  by  them  and  goes 
easily  the  way  of  all  the  earth.  Every  man 
aims  to  be  rich,  in  order  that  he  may  have  cash 
to  spare;  and  nothing  pleases  him  better  than 
to  part  with  it  for  a friend,  in  hospitality  and 
good  fellowship.  Are  they  poor  people  or  are 
they  rich?  No  man  knows.  They  have  little 
money  for  necessities,  but  any  amount  for  lux- 
uries. Americans  would  quarrel  over  a mite 
that  Koreans  would  scorn  to  speak  of.  His 
relative  over  the  way,  the  Chinaman,  is  a loath- 
some miser  in  comparison.  The  Korean  will 
be  hard  up  always  and  yet  never  break  his  pace 
as  a gentleman  of  leisure.  If  I were  poor,  and 
had  no  means,  and  was  obliged  to  throw  my 
remaining  days  on  the  generosity  of  the  pub- 
lic for  food  and  clothes  and  comfort,  I should 
appeal  to  the  Korean,  knowing  that  he  would 
never  see  me  want,  would  be  respectful  while 
generous,  and  would  never  be  so  mean  as  to 
cast  up  my  good-for-nothingness  to  me.” 

The  Koreans  are  a kind-hearted  people. 
Those  of  us  who  have  gone  in  and  out  among 
them  for  nearly  a quarter  of  a century  can 
vouch  for  it.  No  more  gentle  or  hospitable 
race  exists,  and  yet  there  have  been  through 
its  history  fearful  outbreaks  of  cruelty,  and 


Social  Life  and  Customs 


iii 


traces  of  these  remain  till  to-day.  If  a man 
sinned  against  the  state,  the  innocent  women 
of  his  household  suffered  and  the  little  children 
as  well. 

In  the  troubles  of  1885  an  old  conservative 
gentleman  lived  near  the  East  Gate.  When  the 
names  of  the  movers  of  the  riot  were  published, 
his  son’s  name  stood  high  up  on  the  list.  See- 
ing this,  he  went  into  the  inner  room,  called  his 
little  grandchild  and  said,  “Alas ! we  have  lived 
to  be  disgraced,  you  by  your  father  and  I by 
my  son.  We  shall  die  together.”  So  he  and 
the  little  laddie  drank  the  hemlock,  and  made 
atonement  for  the  son. 

There  is  no  individual  in  society,  it  is  one 
body  corporate.  If  one  member  sin  all  suffer 
with  him.  The  fearful  forms  of  torture  loom 
up  yet  out  of  the  shadows,  the  paddle,  the  rack, 
the  chair,  the  cangue  collar,  the  strangle-ring, 
the  shin-rod,  and  various  forms  of  mutilation 
remind  one  of  what  we  see  in  the  Tower  of 
London.  Truly  we  are  brethren  in  cruelty  if 
we  go  far  enough  into  the  dark  past.  But  God 
who  is  rich  in  mercy,  when  he  transforms  an 
Oriental,  seems  first  of  all  to  take  out  of  his 
heart  the  poison  of  cruelty,  and  to  leave  the 
spirit  of  self-sacrifice  and  tenderness  instead. 


Making 

Atonement 


Mutual  Suffering 


I 12 


Korea  in  Transition 


Lack  of  Hygiene 


Mr.  Yi  and  the 
Mummy 


“For  the  public  weal”  has  never  until  re- 
cently cut  any  figure  in  Korean  society.  All 
common  interests  were  left  to  the  other  person. 
Roads,  as  we  have  said,  go  where  they  like 
and  as  they  please.  Garbage-carts  and  wag- 
ons and  a garbage-heap  miles  away  from  the 
city  do  not  exist.  The  refuse  heap  is  just  out- 
side the  front  gate,  and  the  kite  birds  and  the 
summer  rains  are  the  scavengers.  The  streets 
become  the  backyards  heaped  high,  and  trav- 
elers through  Ping  yang  and  Seoul  get  a fear- 
ful view  of  Korean  life,  seeing  the  very  worst 
possible  from  the  very  first.  Odors  abound  and 
epidemics  are  rife,  but  long  usage  has  hardened 
those  passing  by,  and  the  olfactory  nerves  no 
longer  respond  to  this  high  vibration. 

It  recalls  to  the  writer  Mr.  Yi,  consul- 
general  and  minister,  who  was  once  walking 
through  Central  Park  Museum,  New  York. 
We  reached  the  mummy  chamber,  and  Mr.  Yi 
gave  one  look  at  them  and  took  firm  hold  of 
his  nose.  “Why  do  you  hold  your  nose?”  was 
the  question  asked.  Without  letting  go  his 
hold  he  pointed  with  the  other  hand  at  a 
mummy,  “But  he  has  been  dead  for  five  thou- 
sand years.”  “Has  he?”  said  he,  taking  a firmer 
grip,  He  would  not  have  noticed  one  of  these 


Social  Life  and  Customs  113 

fearfully  unkempt  streets,  but  the  supposed 
scent  of  the  mummy  he  could  not  tolerate. 

Korea  is  clean  in  dress,  however,  and  this 
makes  the  land  a paradise  when  compared  with 
Chefoo,  China,  for  example.  The  frequent 
bathing  that  one  sees  in  Japan  does  not  exist, 
but  the  immaculate  suits  that  are  donned  at 
every  short  interval,  even  by  the  poor,  go  far 
to  make  amends. 

Society  as  a body  has  been  blind  and  deaf 
and  dumb.  There  have  been  no  public  gather- 
ings, no  public  opinion  audible,  and  no  eye 
that  could  see  for  the  many.  Christianity 
comes  gently  but  persistently,  step  by  step,  in 
at  all  gateways.  One  of  its  marks  is  that  it 
can  speak,  it  is  peculiarly  a voice;  it  can  see, 
and  can  control  the  eye.  Through  its  good 
news  society  is  awaking  to  see  and  to  hear  and 
to  speak. 

Society  is  so  interlocked  and  bound  together 
by  the  patriarchal  system  that,  not  only  is  inde- 
pendent thought  out  of  the  question,  but  there 
is  no  room  for  patriotism,  no  room  for  sin- 
cerity, no  place  for  accuracy.  Chief  among 
the  many  fathers,  is  the  father  of  the  family. 
Then  there  is  the  father  of  the  state,  the  king, 
and  as  the  father  of  the  family  has  power  ab- 


Immaculate 

Dress 


Society 

Becoming 

Conscious 


System  of 

Patriarchal 

Authority 


Korea  in  Transition 


114 


Several  Present 
and  Past 
Embodiments 


No 

Independence 
of  Thought 


solute  within  the  limits  of  his  own  home,  so 
in  state  affairs  the  king  is  absolute.  Human 
life  and  honor  hang  on  his  hand.  “Exalt  him,” 
reads  the  command,  and  behold  the  man  is 
exalted.  “Take  him  out  and  behead  him,”  and 
lo,  the  man,  without  trial  or  chance  for  his  life, 
dies. 

Then  there  is  the  provincial  father  or  magis- 
trate. He  too  within  a narrower  circle  is  ab- 
solute, and  can  reprimand  and  order  and  be- 
rate as  he  pleases.  Then  there  is  the  literary 
father,  the  schoolmaster,  once  greatly  held  in 
esteem,  now  fallen  amid  the  debris  of  ancient 
systems  and  ideals.  There  are  many  other 
fathers,  all  of  whom  hold  sway  within  their 
own  sphere. 

Such  being  the  case,  independence  of  thought 
or  action  is  out  of  the  question.  Do,  I must, 
as  all  others  have  done,  safe-guarding  the  Oh- 
ryun,  exalting  the  Oh-sang,  and  using  the  Oh- 
hang  to  help  keep  my  bearings.  When  a new 
set  of  conditions  arise  that  are  not  already 
provided  for,  the  Korean  is  at  sea.  He  is  con- 
fronted by  the  dress  problem  these  days,  for 
example,  and  scoop  hats  and  pole-stick  skirts 
are  coming  on.  He  has  never  had  any  freedom 
in  action  heretofore,  and  suddenly  he  has  fallen 


Social  Life  and  Customs  115 

heir  to  it  without  preparation.  Knowledge 
under  any  condition  is  the  result  of  experience, 
so  that  even  a sage  in  the  classics  may  be  but 
a child  when  it  comes  to  baking  bread  or 
gardening. 

For  generations  the  Korean  has  walked  by 
instinct  and  not  by  reason.  Every  possible 
circumstance  was  provided  for,  and  all  he  had 
to  do  was  to  shut  his  eyes  and  let  himself  go. 
But  new  conditions  and  a new  world  have 
come  crashing  into  his  ancient  domain,  and 
where  is  he?  Esson  Third  says:  “The  other 
day  an  unsophisticated  Korean  was  riding  on 
a through  train  from  Fusan,  the  fast  express 
going  at  thirty  miles  an  hour.  For  a time  it 
amused  and  interested  him  to  look  about  the 
painted  wagon  beneath  which  the  landscape 
seemed  to  be  racing  in  all  directions.  He 
looked  at  this  and  examined  that,  and  finally 
grew  tired  of  the  inside  of  the  car  and  poked 
his  head  out  of  the  window  to  see  how  the 
world  wagged.  A gust  of  wind  carried  off  his 
hat  and  hat-string,  and  away  it  went  sailing 
down  the  valley.  He  shouted,  ‘My  hat,’  but 
the  wagon  made  no  response.  In  an  instant  he 
was  at  the  door,  out  onto  the  platform,  and 
before  you  could  think,  head  first  he  went  down 


Facing  New 
Conditions 


n6 


Korea  in  Transition 


An  Impulsive 
Interrogator; 


Patriotism 


over  the  embankment  after  that  hat.  We  saw 
no  more  of  him,  but  I imagined  a pitiful  bundle 
low  in  the  valley,  a mixture  of  white  clothes, 
black  (topknot,  and  brown  honest  face,  fear- 
fully crumpled  over  his  plunge  after  a five  cent 
hat.”  Here  were  a new  set  of  conditions,  and 
he  acted  in  his  old  way,  by  instinct  instead  of 
reason. 

Another  Korean  sat  on  the  open  platform 
of  a construction  train.  The  day  was  warm 
and  he  nodded  in  deep  sleep.  He  was  a man 
of  the  world,  had  seen  much,  and  knew  how 
to  ride  on  railway  trains.  Deep  wa.s  the  nod 
and  comfortable  the  sleep,  but  a curve  met 
them  around  which  the  train  whip-lashed 
violently,  and  away  went  this  son  of  the  Orient 
over  the  edge,  down  the  green  bank  over  and 
over  till  he  reached  the  bottom.  In  an  instant 
he  was  on  his  feet,  wide  awake,  with  a flash 
in  his  eye  and  a look  at  the  train  that  said. 
“What  in  creation  do  you  mean?”  This  cir- 
cumstance also  was  new,  and  the  thought  called 
forth  was  an  impulse  rather  than  a conclusion. 

With  these  laws  governing,  and  customs 
binding  round  and  round,  and  fierce  ancestors 
standing  as  if  on  guard  with  shotgun,  there 
has  been  no  room  for  patriotism.  “Keep  your 


Social  Life  and  Customs  117 

hands  off  Caesar  and  all  that  pertaineth  to 
him,”  has  been  a rule  of  life  for  old  Korea. 
The  principal  association  that  went  with  gov- 
ernment was  the  long  knife,  the  cangue  collar, 
the  paddle,  the  shin-rod,  and  other  instruments 
of  punishment.  Patriotism  therefore  is  a 
new  product,  and  as  yet  somewhat  abnormal 
in  its  character  and  growth. 

Korea  has  lived  in  an  atmosphere  of  fear. 
When  you  could  be  arrested  and  beaten  at 
the  will  of  state  father  or  provincial  father, 
just  when  the  whim  might  take  him,  what  room 
was  there  for  a long  easy  breath  ? The  same 
writer  quoted  above  says:  “Koreans  are  all 
more  or  less  cowards.  Why  should  they  not 
be  so,  living  as  they  do  without  any  confidence 
in  anybody,  ignorant  of  everything,  and  threat- 
ened all  the  time  by  ten  thousand  evil  influ- 
ences? They  have  no  idea  of  standing  together 
or  of  organizing,  and  are  just  beginning  to 
hear  the  mysterious  words,  ‘liberty,  equality, 
fraternity’.” 

In  olden  days  the  standard  of  education  was 
that  derived  from  China,  to-day  it  is  mathe- 
matics. The  Korean  has  come  suddenly  on  a 
new  vein,  and  is  digging  like  a “forty-niner” 
to  possess  all  of  its  treasure.  Until  the  present 


Fear 


Lack  of 
Accuracy 


A Fatalist 


118  Korea  in  Transition 

time  a lack  of  accuracy  has  been  one  of  Korea’s 
characteristics.  A writer  in  the  Seoul  Press 
says:  “Time  was  nothing,  day  after  to-morrow 
was  just  the  same  as  the  day  before  yesterday. 
A promise  fails,  not  because  men  are  dishonest, 
but  because  no  one  ever  dreams  of  being  exact 
in  anything.  In  Korea  a definite  description 
is  impossible,  and  exact  information  is  out  of 
the  question.  Hard  and  fast  accuracy  of 
statement  does  not  get  within  signaling  dis- 
tance of  the  Korean’s  soul.  He  cannot  under- 
stand what  you  mean  by  it.  The  newly  ar- 
rived missionary  physician  says  to  the  inter- 
preter: ‘Tell  the  patient  to  shake  the  bottle 
and  take  one  half  teaspoonful  half  an  hour 
after  meals,  in  a wine-glass  of  water’.  The 
interpreter  says:  ‘Shake  the  jug,  and  take  a 
good  lot  of  the  mixture  five  or  six  times  a day 
till  you  feel  better’.” 

The  Korean,  shorn  of  independent  action 
and  riveted  to  this  machine  called  society,  is 
an  out-and-out  fatalist.  His  Eight  Characters 
settle  his  destiny.  God  the  distant,  all-power- 
ful, unapproachable  One  has  his  life  in  his 
keeping.  His  Oh-hang  are  always  after  him. 
What  happens  must  happen,  when  he  falls  he 
must  fall,  if  he’s  poor  he  must  be  poor,  when 


Social  Life  and  Customs  119 

he  dies  he  dies.  His  being  has  no  play 
inside  of  the  tight  clamps  that  grip  him  round 
about.  His  belief  in  the  fearful  law  of  Unsu 
possesses  him.  If  he  fails  in  business  it  is 
Unsu;  if  he  is  dirty  and  miserable  it  is  Unsu; 
if  the  state  falls,  no  one  is  to  blame,  for  no  one 
can  withstand  Unsu.  In  a recent  public  lec- 
ture the  Hon.  T.  H.  Yun,  who  is  both  a West- 
erner and  a Korean,  said  to  those  before  him : 
“Until  you  give  up  the  word  Unsu,  there  is  no 
hope.  It  is  nonsense,  there  is  no  such  thing. 
Every  man  is  his  own  Unsu,  and  can  make 
of  life  what  he  will.” 

Underneath  this  social  structure  with  its  Oh- 
ryun  and  Oh-sang  and  Oh-hang  great  charges 
of  dynamite  are  exploding.  They  have  come 
about  through  the  opening  of  the  gates,  the 
incoming  of  the  missionary,  and  the  invasion 
by  Japan.  This  country’s  ideals,  so  different 
from  and  so  diametrically  opposed  to  those  of 
old  Korea,  are  upon  us,  and  a great  smashing 
up  of  all  the  social  system  is  taking  place. 

Has  the  gospel  anything  to  offer  at  such  a 
time  as  this?  When  the  old  paternal  system 
has  given  way  and  domestic  life  and  govern- 
ment are  at  sea,  it  comes  in  tones  of  matchless 
simplicity  and  says:  “Our  Father,  who  art  in 


Social  Upheaval 


Startling  Gospel 
Truths 


120 


Korea  in  Transition 


Freedom 


heaven,  thy  kingdom  come.  In  the  Father’s 
house  are  many  mansions,  prepared  for  those 
that  love  him.”  How  about  in-eui-y e-chi-shin? 
The  character  in,  is  made  up  of  men  and  two, 
two  men,  showing  that  love  always  keeps  in 
mind  the  other  one;  but  chief  of  all  altruis- 
tic teachers  is  the  Word  of  God,  and  it  comes 
with  its  message  to  take  the  place  of  the  lost 
virtue,  in.  Eui,  righteousness,  is  made  up  of 
sacrificial  lamb,  and  first  personal  pronoun,  I. 
I,  underneath  the  sacrificial  lamb,  means  right- 
eousness. My  oneness  with  Jesus  not  only 
takes  the  place  of  the  character,  but  fills 
out  its  thought,  and  makes  the  studies  of  the 
past  a prophetic  voice  pointing  to  the  great 
revelation. 

Where  is  freedom  to  be  found,  freedom  from 
past  bondage,  from  present  bondage,  from  the 
bondage  of  self,  from  custom,  from  fear,  from 
superstition?  The  heart  of  the  nation  these 
days  goes  out  in  longings  for  freedom.  “Ye 
shall  know  the  truth,  and  the  truth  shall  make 
you  free.”  Korea’s  ancient  civilization  appears 
to  be  a planned  opening  of  the  way  for  receiv- 
ing the  gospel  at  the  present  day;  and  the 
reader  will  doubtless  be  able  to  see  through  its 
bondage  a groundwork  for  present  hope. 


Social  Life  and  Customs  12  i 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  IV 

Aim  : To  Appreciate  the  New  Needs  of  Korean 

Society 

I.  The  Ideals  of  Korean  Society. 

I.  Which  of  the  five  laws  seem  to  you  most,  and 
which  least  ideal  as  to  relationships? 

2*  Name  what  you  consider  the  five  principal 
virtues  for  mankind,  and  compare  them  with 
the  Korean  list. 

3.  Compare  the  five  Korean  virtues  with  the 
fruits  of  the  Spirit,  mentioned  in  Galatians 
v.  22-23,  and  note  the  most  striking  differ- 
ences. 

4.  Compare  them  with  the  two  great  command- 
ments given  by  Christ. 

5.  What  do  you  consider  the  most  notable  omis- 
sions in  the  list  of  Korean  laws  and  virtues? 

6.  What  would  you  infer  as  to  a system  that 
made  ceremony  one  of  its  five  cardinal 
virtues  ? 

II.  The  Rule  of  Custom. 

7.  What  effect  will  the  Korean  power  of  custom 
have  upon  the  character  of  the  virtues  de- 
veloped? 

8.  What  classes  profit  most  from  a social  order 
based  on  custom,  the  superior  or  the  inferior? 
Illustrate  your  answer  from  the  position  of 
the  woman  and  child  in  Korean  society. 

$).*  What  are  the  advantages  and  what  the  dis- 
advantages of  a society  in  which  custom  is  all- 
powerful  ? * 

10.  What  is  its  effect  upon  personal  development? 


122 


Korea  in  Transition 


11.  What  is  its  effect  upon  public  progress? 

12. *  What  have  been  the  different  ideals  of  Korean 

and  American  education? 

13.  What  ideals  of  American  education  are  most 
needed  in  Korea? 

III.  Changes  Needed  in  Family  Life. 

14.  What  have  been  the  advantages  and  disad- 
vantages of  giving  the  father  of  the  family 
such  absolute  control? 

15. *  Name  in  the  order  of  their  importance  the 

changes  you  would  like  to  make  in  Korean 
family  life.  Tell  what  you  would  expect  to 
accomplish  by  each  of  them. 

16.  What  obstacles  would  you  expect  to  meet  in 
persuading  the  average  Korean  to  accept  these 
changes  ? 

1 7. *  What  new  moral  ideals  would  be  needed  in 

order  to  make  these  changes  effective? 

18.  Why  are  these  ideals  especially  needed  in  the 
present  crisis? 

19.  How  can  these  ideals  be  secured? 

20.  Tell  how  you  would  present  Christianity  to 
meet  the  needs  of  Korean  society. 

21.  Give  passages  of  Scripture  that  you  think 
would  be  most  useful. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  IV 

I.  Korean  Character. 

Gale:  Korean  Sketches,  chs.  II,  IX,  X,  pp.  23, 
238-243. 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  pp.  59,  66-69. 
Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  II. 


Social  Life  and  Customs 


123 

Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  235,  236, 
336,  337- 

Underwood:  The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  44-51. 
Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
pp.  273-276. 

II.  The  Position  of  Woman. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XXVIII. 
Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  1 14-120, 
339-343,  355- 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  pp.  59-63. 
Underwood : The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  52-55,  61-63. 
Noble:  Ewa:  A Tale  of  Korea,  ch.  II. 


SPECIAL  PROVIDENCES 


A second  cause  contributing  to  the  success  of  missionary 
work  in  Korea  is  found  in  the  conditions  amidst  which  the 
missionaries  labored.  Misgovemment  and  oppression  had 
reduced  the  people  to  despair.  The  measures  taken  for  com- 
mercial and  political  betterment  under  native  leadership  had 
terminated  in  disappointing  failure.  The  people  were  tired 
out,  weary,  and  disheartened  with  the  barrenness  of  pagan 
beliefs  and  religions.  Morally  they  were  decrepit  and  mori- 
bund. Into  the  gloomy,  chilly  atmosphere  of  their  moral  life 
came  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  with  its  radiant  promises  of 
better  things,  and  the  Koreans  turned  as  instinctively  to  it  as 
the  flower  to  the  sunshine.  There  has  been  a lack  of  com- 
petition with  Christianity  which  has  given  to  Christian  forces 
virtually  a monopoly  of  the  field.  Xo  great  educational  de- 
velopment or  commercial  expansion,  no  large  military  and 
naval  development  has  taken  place  to  challenge  and  hold  the 
attention  of  the  people.  There  has  not  yet  arisen  in  Korea  a 
many-tongued  press  and  literature,  with  its  babel  and  clamor 
of  beliefs  and  propositions  to  dispute  with  Christianity  the 
control  of  the  intellectual  life  of  the  people.  The  only  new 
literature,  and,  with  few  exceptions,  the  only  periodicals 
issued,  came  from  Christian  sources.  Each  political  change 
and  disturbance  of  the  social  order  has  accelerated  the  turn- 
ing of  the  Koreans  to  the  Christian  Church,  while  the  absence 
of  a nationalistic  idea  has  resulted  in  a lack  of  strength  and 
virility  in  the  devotion  of  the  average  Korean  to  his  religious 
beliefs. 

— George  Heber  Jones 


lift 


Vj 

SPECIAL  PROVIDENCES 

It  is  noticeable  that  missionaries  who  are 
long  in  the  interior  develop  a kind  of  hermit 
instinct  that  makes  them  shun  the  company 
of  their  fellows.  One  dear  wife,  in  her  lonely 
exile,  mourned  for  two  years  the  loss  of  faces, 
voices,  and  companionships  that  had  been  her 
joy  and  had  made  the  world  for  her;  for  the 
next  two  years  she  awoke  to  new  environ- 
ments and  found  her  soul  tuned  to  new  vibra- 
tions; for  all  the  years  afterward  she  was  out 
of  touch  forever  with  the  world  that  she  had 
wept  over.  Its  voices  were  not  agreeable,  its 
faces  foreign,  and  she  was  at  home  and  at  peace 
with  the  yellow  world  and  all  its  yellow  ways. 
There  is  a disease  that  might  be  called  hermi- 
toid,  that  manifests  itself  in  a desire  to  be  alone. 
Like  malaria  it  will  overtake  the  missionary 
unless  he  guards  against  it.  Nations  too  may 
fall  victims  to  the  same  complaint.  The  vic- 
tims avoid  all  foreign  invitations;  they  shun 
commerce;  they  mistrust  everybody;  they  want 


The  Hermit 
Tendency 


127 


128 


Korea  in  Transition 


Former 
Opposition  to 
Foreigners 


Ignorance  of  the 
World 


to  be  alone.  This  was  Korea’s  complaint,  till 
the  decade  of  the  eighties. 

The  present  universally  beloved  and  honored 
Director  of  Religious  Work  in  the  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association,  S.  J.  Yi,  was  secretary 
to  the  first  embassy  to  Japan  in  1876.  It  was 
a great  and  unheard-of  venture  for  Korea  to 
reach  out  as  far  as  Kobe,  she  being  the  Hermit. 
When  there  an  Englishman  sent  in  his  card  to 
the  ambassador  and  said,  “Let  us  meet  and  be 
friends.”  The  ambassador  said,  “Don’t  touch 
it.  Send  it  back  and  say,  ‘We  have  no  dealings 
with  foreigners.’  ” Sign-posts  along  the  way 
as  late  as  1880  said:  “If  you  meet  a foreigner, 
kill  him;  he  who  has  friendly  relations  with 
him  is  a traitor  to  his  country.”  There  seem- 
ingly is  not  a moment  of  quiet  or  a place  of 
privacy  in  the  whole  land,  and  yet  the  broad 
base  of  Korea’s  soul  has  marked  on  it,  “Let  me 
be  alone.” 

Three  great  nations  closed  right  in  upon  her, 
but  the  walls  held,  and,  until  the  eighties, 
scarcely  even  the  name  of  a foreign  country 
was  known.  In  1889  the  writer  met  the  gov- 
ernor of  Whanghai  province,  and  in  the  course 
of  conversation  learned  that  that  dignitary  did 
not  even  know  the  name  of  America,  Mi-guk , 


Special  Providences 


129 


or  Yong-guk,  England,  but  thought  that  the 
Western  world  was  all  one  country,  Yang-guk. 
He  knew  of  China  as  the  Great  Country,  Ta- 
guk,  and  of  Japan  as  Wa-guk,  Contemptible 
Dwarf  Land.  His  world  was  still  flat,  and  in 
the  middle  of  it  all  was  China,  while  on  the  east 
side  of  it  was  Korea.  If  you  went  far  enough 
there  were  falling-off  places  into  nowhere.  All 
outside  races  were  barbarians,  and  Korea  de- 
sired converse  with  none  of  them. 

While  other  parts  of  the  Orient  were  touched 
by  this  and  that  influence,  Korea  as  though  by 
order  of  some  great  resident-general  was  kept 
closely  locked  and  barred.  When  the  Chinese 
envoy  came  bringing  a message  from  the  Yel- 
low Emperor,  he  had  a long  train  of  retainers 
and  hangers-on,  horses  and  camels  following. 
It  would  seem  as  though  Korea  would  be  oc- 
cupied permanently  by  this  invading  army,  but 
not  so,  for  when  the  envoy  retired  all  others 
were  “shooed”  out  after  him.  “Go  in  peace  but 
go,”  was  the  parting  word.  The  retired  scholar 
in  the  hills,  living  in  a little  hut,  who  sits  with 
rod  and  line  by  the  side  of  a stream  catching  no 
fish,  but  ever  dreaming  endless  dreams  of  three 
thousand  years  ago,  this  man  was  the  ideal  of 
old  Korea,  the  Hermit,  the  Unsa, 


Unreached  by 

Outside 

Influences 


The  Hour  and 
the  Missionary 


The  Great  War 


130  Korea  in  Transition 

Suddenly  the  command  was  issued  from 
somewhere,  “Open  wide  the  gates,”  and  lo,  in 
stepped  the  missionary.  The  doors  had  re- 
mained fast  closed  till  he  was  ready,  but  now 
the  hour  had  come.  From  that  day  on  the 
missionary  has  been  the  representative  West- 
erner, not  the  merchantman  nor  the  official,  but 
the  missionary,  the  moksa,  pacing  the  length 
and  breadth  of  the  land,  in  the  far  north,  down 
south,  all  the  way  from  Seoul  to  Fusan,  to 
Wi  ju,  gazed  at  by  wondering  multitudes. 

Korea  might  have  remained  a hermit  still, 
had  not  a great  war  brought  her  prominently 
before  the  world.  The  greatest  armies  of 
modern  times  have  marched  across  Korea ; 
fleets  that  would  eclipse  the  Armada  have 
steamed  round  her  shores.  The  greatest  naval 
battle  that  the  world  ever  saw  took  place  within 
sound  of  her  coast-line.  God  was  pushing  out 
the  recently  discovered  Hermit  to  catch  the  at- 
tention of  the  world.  The  battle  of  the  Yalu 
(Korea’s  northern  border  line)  between 
Kuroki  and  the  Russians  really  opened  the  war, 
and  the  fleet  that  steamed  out  of  Masanpo 
(south  port  of  Korea)  really  closed  it.  In- 
cluded within  the  limits  of  the  war  were  not 
only  her  boundaries,  but  her  fate,  her  future. 


Group  of  Presbyterian  Missionaries  Itinerating 


Itinerating 


Special  Providences  131 

Not  only  was  she  pushed  before  the  world 
by  newspaper  reporters,  war  correspondents, 
and  political  writers,  but  the  Hidden  Hand 
linked  her  to  the  world’s  newest  and  greatest 
highway.  In  place  of  being  a forgotten  corner, 
she  is  now  a part  of  the  steel  rings  that  en- 
circle the  earth.  To  this  once  unvisited  city  of 
Seoul,  callers  are  coming  from  all  over  the 
world.  Sunday  after  Sunday  we  have  visitors 
who  look  down  on  the  congregation  from  the 
platform,  visitors  from  Japan,  America,  China, 
India,  Europe,  Australia.  Korea  is  not  mod- 
ern like  Japan,  she  is  older  than  China,  and  yet 
here  is  the  West,  sitting  by  and  looking  on. 
God  is  using  Korea  as  a missionary  advertising 
agency  for  the  whole  Far  East,  and  the  line  of 
callers  is  unbroken  and  growing  in  breadth  and 
thickness.  “How  wonderful,”  they  say,  “to  see 
these  hundreds  of  people  gathered  here  in  wor- 
ship!” “What  are  they  talking  about?”  “He 
shall  make  you  free,  free  from  self,  free  from 
sorrow,  free  from  sin,  free  from  sickness  and 
death,”  and  they  all  sing  “Hallelujah.”  The 
sightseer  says  that  this  is  wonderful  and 
passes  on  to  tell  of  the  awakening  in  the  Far 
East.  Korea  is  evidently  being  used  as  a pivot- 
point  for  the  whole  hemisphere. 


Visited  by  the 
World 


1 32 


Korea  in  Transition 


So  Small 


Self-government 
and  Self-defense 


It  is  fitting  that  Korea  should  play  a special 
part  in  the  progress  of  missions,  for  Korea  is 
small  as  compared  with  adjoining  territory  and 
population.  It  has  only  80,000  square  miles. 
Shan-tung  alone  has  53,762,  and  a population 
of  36,247,000,  a little  more  than  half  the  size, 
with  three  times  the  population.  The  attention 
called  to  Korea  these  days  seems  by  some  spe- 
cial ordinance ; for,  man  to  man,  it  is  far  out  of 
proportion  to  its  size  and  population.  A little, 
old  remnant  of  a people  seems  about  all  they 
are  as  compared  with  the  teeming  multitudes 
of  China,  the  dusty-coated  hordes  of  Russia, 
or  the  picturesquely  advertised  world  of  Japan. 
Assuredly  the  last  is  first. 

Neither  the  science  of  self-government  nor 
the  science  of  self-defense  is  known  to  this  peo- 
ple. They  have  got  along  with  government 
under  despots  for  generations  past,  and  have 
been  protected  by  no  one  knows  whom,  till  at 
last  a wild  realization  has  settled  over  them 
that  they  have  no  king  and  no  defense.  Is  this 
not  one  of  the  terrible  facts  that  must  confront 
one  ere  we  see  Jesus  in  all  his  attributes  to 
save?  We  must  conclude,  after  the  surprises 
and  changes  of  the  last  twelve  years,  that  man's 
hand  is  not  in  it,  that  cabinets  and  governments 


Special  Providences 


133 


are  outside  of  it,  and  that  God  has  brought  this 
last,  little,  long-forgotten  people  to  the  place 
where  they  say,  “We  have  no  king  and  no  de- 
fense.” His  reply  out  of  the  thick  clouds  of 
sorrow  is,  “Behold  my  Son,  he  is  your  King, 
and  he  is  your  Defense.” 

The  place  that  trouble  holds  in  the  world  of 
Christian  experience,  the  turbulent  seas  of  Gali- 
lee, the  prisons,  the  lions’  dens  that  await  the 
Christian  on  his  pilgrimage,  are  of  intense  in- 
terest to  the  Korean.  He  studies  them;  he 
thinks  of  Peter  under  iron  gate  and  guard,  of 
Paul  and  Silas  with  feet  in  the  stocks,  of  John 
on  Patmos,  and  he  comes  to  the  absurd  con- 
clusion that  these  men  are  not  really  Roman 
prisoners,  but  rulers  of  the  world.  Then  he 
says : “Here  am  I ; nobody  knows  the  trouble  I 
see ; my  nation  is  shipwrecked ; we  are  all  in 
prison.”  A son  who  was  a political  suspect 
wrote  to  his  father  from  the  lock-up,  “I’m  in 
prison.”  The  father  answered,  “Be  patient, 
my  son,  we  are  all  in  prison.”  “Among  tigers” 
is  a fruitful  theme  for  story-writers  and  politi- 
cal speakers;  the  Christian,  however,  with 
vision  cleared  for  the  distant  horizons,  sings, 
“Stand  up  my  soul,  shake  off  thy  fears.” 
Wedded  to  God’s  good  news  is  tribulation. 


134 


Korea  in  Transition 


How  absurd  it  seems,  and  yet  it  is  certainly  so 
in  the  days  of  our  best  experience.  They  have 
met  in  Korea,  these  two,  and  hand  in  hand 
they  move  persuasively  everywhere,  into  the 
Palace,  into  the  hut  back  of  the  grinding-mill, 
into  the  schoolroom,  into  the  life  of  the  lost, 
into  the  den  of  the  slave,  till  trouble  becomes  a 
beautifully  arched  bridgeway  to  the  regions  of 
freedom  and  joy.  As  Caesar,  the  great  enemy 
of  the  Jew,  ruled  at  the  time  when  the  Savior 
himself  came  to  visit  them,  so  to-day  under  the 
rod  of  the  alien  a universal  gospel  invitation 
goes  forth. 

Korea's  Position  Three  great  nations  press  close  up  around 
Korea.  Japan  to  the  fore,  a first-rate  power,  is 
in  command.  She  rules,  keyed  up  to  concert 
pitch.  Very  little  remains  for  her  for  further 
advance;  all  the  taxes  she  can  bear,  all  the 
army  she  can  raise,  all  the  navy  she  can  stand, 
this  is  Japan.  No  marked  change  in  her  near 
future  is  expected  or  is  possible.  Korea  is  per- 
fectly helpless  in  her  hands,  and  if  no  other 
consideration  were  involved  in  the  question  of 
the  Far  East,  her  place  would  be  fixed  world 
without  end.  But  Korea’s  place  and  Korea’s 
future  are  by  no  means  settled.  To  the  north 
and  west  are  the  world’s  greatest  questions  as 


Special  Providences 


135 


to  nations,  Russia  and  China.  Russia,  half 
awake,  elbows  the  East  all  along  its  northern 
boundary,  Persia,  Mongolia,  China,  Korea, 
Japan.  Everybody  is  aware  of  Russia,  and 
reports  concerning  the  White  Czar  pass  con- 
stantly. Korea  spells  it  “white”  and  “king”, 
“white”  up  above  and  “king”  down  below  and 
that  spells  a special  character  meaning  “su- 
preme emperor.”  White  Czar  points  fatefully 
to  the  ultimate  supremacy  of  the  Russias  in 
the  East. 

On  the  west  is  China,  snoring  soundly  as 
from  a sleep  of  opium.  Will  she  awake  some 
day,  colossus  of  the  world  ? We  love  her.  The 
Chinaman  somehow  stands  for  diligence,  sim- 
plicity, capability,  good  order,  mind-your-own- 
business,  indifference,  geniality,  superstition, 
lack  of  hygiene,  trustworthiness.  Heaped  up 
against  Korea’s  west  boundary  line  are  his  un- 
countable millions.  There  was  something  ex- 
ceedingly impressive  in  the  quiet  voice  of 
Hudson  Taylor  when  he  said  “China’s  mil- 
lions.” What  possible  relation  has  the  atom  to 
the  mass?  and  yet  God  has  put  Korea  here 
and  surrounded  her  by  these  portentous  possi- 
bilities. Undoubtedly  her  position  has  in  it 
something  of  God’s  great  plan.  Let  the  stu- 


China's  Million* 
on  the  West 


136 


Korea  in  Transition 


Language 


Three  Written 
Forma 


dent  of  missions  ponder  well  over  the  map  of 
Asia  and  see  where  and  how  Korea  sits. 

We  think  we  see  a providence  in  the  matter 
of  Korea’s  written  and  spoken  languages.  Be- 
ing a little  country  she  has  but  one  speech,  and 
when  a man  of  the  north  says,  “Peace,”  to  the 
man  of  Quelpart,  he  understands  and  answers 
“ Pyung-an-hassio ” (Peace).  Their  ears  are 
all  tuned  to  the  same  sounds,  though  there  are 
variations  of  dialect,  as  between  the  Scotch  and 
Irish,  each  of  whom  understands  the  other 
perfectly  and  each  maintains  that  his  talk  is  the 
standard  “King’s  English”. 

As  for  written  languages  she  has  no  less 
than  three:  pure  Chinese,  pure  Un-mun,  and 
mixed  script.  Japan,  while  somewhat  similarly 
situated  to  Korea  in  the  matter  of  language, 
has  not  all  her  freedom.  Poor  China  flounders 
about  hopelessly  trying  to  find  some  vehicle 
that  will  convey  thought  from  the  page  to  the 
mind  of  the  simple.  She  tries  the  character  and 
labors  hard  to  learn  it.  The  teacher,  in  ex- 
plaining the  ideograph  to  the  pupil,  says : “Now 
listen.  When  you  have  ‘heart’  to  left  and 
‘blood’  to  right,  the  character  means  ‘to 
pity’;  but  when  you  have  ‘heart’  on  one  side 
and  ‘star’  on  the  other,  it  means  ‘wake  up’. 


Special  Providences 


137 


When  there  is  ‘hand’  on  one  side,  and  ‘foot’ 
on  the  other,  it  means  ‘to  take  hold’.  When 
‘water’  is  on  one  side,  and  ‘stand  up’  on  the 
other,  it  means  ‘to  cry’.  When  it  has  two 
‘speeches’,  and  ‘sheep’  standing  between  them, 
it  means  ‘good’.  When  ‘grass’  is  on  top  and 
‘name’  is  down  below,  it  means  ‘tea’,  and  so 
on  and  so  on,  till  the  brain  grows  dizzy, 
and  two  thousand  characters  and'  more  are 
learned.  Then  they  must  be  read  from  the 
string  along  which  they  are  strung.  “For- 
father-thing-do-one-son-also-do-father-love- 
son-so-already-everything-do-one-make-know.” 
This  represents  the  struggle  of  China,  Korea, 
and  Japan  after  thought  through  the  medium 
of  the  character.  How  labored  and  shadowy, 
but  how  simple  when  run  out  in  native  script : 
“For  the  thing  the  Father  does,  the  Son  does 
also;  the  Father  loves  the  Son,  and  shows  him 
all  he  does.” 

Korea’s  native  script  is  surely  the  simplest 
language  in  the  world.  Invented  in  1445  A. 
D.,  it  has  come  quietly  down  the  dusty  ages, 
waiting  for,  who  knew  what?  Never  used,  it 
was  looked  on  with  contempt  as  being  so  easy. 
Why  yes,  even  women  could  learn  it  in  a month 
or  little  more;  of  what  use  could  such  a cheap 


Un-mun,  or  the 
Native  Script 


13S  Korea  in  Transition 

script  be?  By  one  of  those  mysterious  provi- 
dences it  was  made  ready  and  kept  waiting  for 
the  New  Testament  and  other  Christian  litera- 
ture. Up  to  this  day  these  have  had  almost 
exclusive  use  of  this  wonderfully  simple  lan- 
guage. This  perhaps  is  the  most  remarkable 
providence  of  all,  this  language  sleeping  its 
long  sleep  of  four  hundred  years,  waiting  till 
the  hour  should  strike  on  the  clock,  that  it 
might  rise  and  tell  of  all  Christ’s  wondrous 
works.  They  call  it  Un-mun,  the  “dirty  lan- 
guage,” because  it  is  so  simple  and  easy  as 
compared  with  proud  Chinese  picture  writing. 
God  surely  loves  the  humble  things  of  life,  and 
chooses  the  things  that  are  naught  to  bring  to 
naught  the  things  that  are.  Tied  in  the  belts 
of  the  women  are  New  Testaments  in  common 
Korean;  in  the  pack  of  the  mountaineer  on 
his  brisk  journeying;  in  the  wall-box  of  the 
hamlet  home;  piled  up  on  the  shelf  of  the  liv- 
ing-room are  these  books  in  Un-mun  telling 
of  Yesu  (Jesus),  mighty  to  save.  The  writer 
counts  it  among  his  choicest  privileges  that  he 
has  had  a share  in  its  translation,  that  to  him 
were  assigned  John,  Acts,  Romans,  Galatians, 
Ephesians,  and  Revelation. 

As  for  the  third  language  we  have  the  mixed 


Mixed  Script 


Special  Providences 


139 


script.  It  is  composed  partly  of  Chinese  char- 
acters and  partly  of  pure  Un-mun,  and  is  used 
by  Chinese  readers  and  those  who  are  fairly 
well  educated.  The  Korean  might  be  said  to 
be  three  quarters  eye  and  one  quarter  ear.  He 
is  never  sure  of  a sentence  till  he  sees  it.  You 
may  say,  “Sit  still  now  till  I read  it  to  you. 

Yes,  I’ll  even  spell  it  out  to  you.”  He’ll  repeat 
it  after  you,  and  yet  he  is  not  sure  of  the  mean- 
ing till  he  sees  it.  When  he  sees  it,  he  exclaims, 

“Oh,  now  I understand.”  When  he  reads  Chi- 
nese out  loud  he  does  not  do  so  for  the  benefit 
of  listeners,  nor  does  he  do  so  that  his  own 
ears  may  hear,  he  repeats  the  sound  in  order 
that  his  eye  may  be  helped  to  see  more  clearly. 

The  place  of  the  eye,  and  the  relative  impor- 
tance of  sight  as  compared  with  hearing  is  a 
very  interesting  subject  to  students  of  the  East. 

The  result  is  that  we  have  three  written  lan-  A Va8t  Am,y  ol 

Readers 

guages,  and  a vast  army  of  readers.  Whereas 
in  China  and  India  one  among  a thousand  per- 
haps can  read,  in  Korea  reading  is  almost 
universal.  Those  who  have  had  no  education 
can  in  a month  or  so  “awake”  to  the  common 
script,  and  are  possessors  of  the  Bible.  Is  it 
not  a sign  and  a wonder  that  in  this  old  for- 
gotten land,  with  its  conservative  notions  and 


140 


Korea  in  Transition 


A Literary 
People 


The  Korean's 
Ambition  for 
Scholarship 


backward  ways,  the  New  Testament  should  be 
sold  by  millions  of  portions  and  whole  copies  ? 

Another  providence  is  that  they  have  been 
preserved  a literary  people  through  all  the 
changes  of  the  past.  They  are  not  commercial 
nor  military,  but  are  literary.  They  exalt 
books,  and  so  the  Book  of  all  books  is  gladly 
welcomed.  They  honor  high  teachings,  and  the 
gospel  is  treated  as  a prince  bearing  his  tribute 
of  righteousness,  peace,  and  joy.  This  being 
the  case,  the  missionary  has  had  prepared  for 
him  a special  place  of  honor,  prepared  from 
past  ages  and  awaiting  his  arrival.  He  is  the 
man  with  the  book,  not  the  man  who  comes  to 
deal  in  lands,  houses,  or  money ; he  is  a spiritual 
master  of  literature,  a teacher,  a guide,  a model 
for  the  common  man.  How  shall  we  express 
regret  sufficient  for  the  missionary  who  fails  to 
hold  the  exalted  place  prepared  for  him  and 
given  by  this  people  ? 

The  fact  that  education  has  been  the  supreme 
object  or  prize  of  Korean  ambition  evidences 
another  special  providence.  More  than  for 
wealth  or  office,  he  has  longed  for  scholarship. 
To  be  a litterateur  and  able  to  read  the  dots 
and  strokes  and  spear-points  of  the  Chinese 
character  was  the  all  in  all  of  existence.  The 


Special  Providences  141 

scholar  was  a king,  and  associated  with  him 
were  the  dragon,  the  phenix,  the  unicorn,  the 
tortoise,  and  the  stork — all  of  these  having  to 
do  with  profound  spiritual  meanings.  These 
attainments  cut  him  off  from  the  common 
haunts  of  men  as  the  mountain  forest  is  cut  off 
and  stands  alone,  hence  he  is  called  Sa-rim 
(Teacher  Woods),  or  San-lim  (Mountains  and 
Woods),  or  Yu-rim  (Confucian  Forest),  or 
Eun-il  (Run  Away  and  Hide). 

His  was  a long  and  arduous  course  of  study, 
and  if  we  measure  attainment  by  hours  con- 
sumed, by  feats  of  memory,  by  the  manipula- 
tion of  most  difficult  signs,  certainly  the  degree 
of  a Korean  scholar  meant  more  than  one  from 
Yale,  Oxford,  or  Johns  Hopkins. 

He  begins  by  reading  the  Thousand  Char- 
acter Classic,  then  the  Tong-mong  Son-scup 
(The  Primer),  a book  which  deals  with  the 
Five  Principles.  Then  several  Chinese  his- 
tories are  read,  the  student  never  learning  any- 
thing about  his  own  country,  but  of  China  only 
— Mencius,  the  Analects,  the  Doctrine  of  the 
Mean,  the  Books  of  History  and  Poetry,  and 
finally  the  Yi-king, — king  of  all  absurd  com- 
positions. For  a third  of  the  time  the  student 
reads,  for  a third  of  the  time  he  composes,  for 


Long  and 
Arduous  Course 
of  Study 


Curriculum  and 

Results 

Produced 


142 


Korea  in  Transition 


a third  of  the  time  he  writes.  From  twenty 
years  of  this  treadmill  comes  forth  a peculiar 
but  most  interesting  type  of  graduate.  From 
long  contact  with  imperious  and  opinionated 
teachers,  he  has  grown  perfect  in  the  matter  of 
respect  to  seniors,  his  downsittings  and  upris- 
ings are  all  in  accordance  with  eternal  law,  his 
manner  of  deportment  would  delight  a czar  or 
imperial  Mogul,  his  powers  of  concentration 
and  attention  are  remarkable,  his  refinement  of 
bearing  most  distinguished,  and  in  forms  of 
expression  and  dignity  he  could  teach  a prince. 
Within  certain  fixed  limits  he  is  a poet,  a prose 
writer,  a dreamer,  a dream.  It  seems  like  sacri- 
lege to  break  into  this  old  and  interesting 
world,  but,  like  Burns  to  the  daisy,  there  is  no 
help  for  it: 

"Stem  Ruin’s  plowshare  drives,  elate, 

Full  on  thy  bloom. 

Till  crushed  beneath  the  furrow’s  weight 
Shall  be  thy  doom.” 

The  new  century  with  keen  colter  and  long 
share  has  driven,  is  driving,  will  drive,  through 
all  the  ideals  of  the  East,  and  with  them  edu- 
cation. The  rooms  that  once  echoed  with  the 
voices  of  little  boys  shouting  out  the  old 
phrases,  as  they  memorized  the  Thousand 


Beginning  of  a School  for  Girls 


Korean  Teacher  with  Pupils 


Special  Providences 


M3 


Character  Classic,  are  silent,  and  instead,  on 
benches  arranged  in  rows,  sit  a new  generation 
of  this  new  century  learning  arithmetic,  geog- 
raphy, history,  and  the  other  branches  of 
modern  education.  The  change  is  the  most  mo- 
mentous that  has  come  in  a thousand  years; 
namely,  that  the  ideals  and  gods  of  yesterday 
should  to-day  be  dishonored  and  forgotten. 

Some  of  us  have  seen  it  with  our  eyes,  have 
lived  through  this  revolution,  have  lived  in  it 
over  a span  of  twenty  centuries,  out  of  yester- 
day’s B.  C.  into  to-day’s  A.  D.  Is  it  a dream 
or  is  it  real  ? Are  these  people  those  of  twenty 
years  ago,  with  their  thoughts  and  desires  and 
purposes,  or  are  they  another  race  who  have 
been  grafted  on  in  a night,  and  have  I slept 
like  Rip  Van  Winkle  and  lost  track  of  my 
bearings  ? 

Christian  schools  are  the  crying  need.  To  MU,ion  school* 
catch  this  wave  on  the  crest  and  this  moment 
ere  it  pass  is  our  heart’s  desire  for  Korea.  In 
Ping  yang  and  Seoul  already  schools  have  been 
established  where  the  students  make  as  good  a 
showing  as  in  any  place  in  the  world,  though 
they  say  the  multiplication  table  backwards  and 
write  the  denominator  of  a fraction  before  they 
write  the  numerator. 


144 


Korea  in  Transition 


Desire  for 
Education 


Right 

Adjustment  to 
the  State 


Books  and  Other 
Developments 


A great  fever  for  education  has  taken  pos- 
session of  the  people  of  the  peninsula.  At  every 
public  gathering  where  education  is  mentioned, 
it  touches  a thousand  electric  buttons,  and  men 
are  on  their  feet,  wide  awake,  and  excitement 
runs  high.  All  eyes  are  bright  when  education 
speaks.  Schools  are  cropping  out  of  the  soil 
like  mushrooms.  Tight-fisted  men  who  never 
gave  a cash  for  the  welfare  of  another  are 
aroused  by  the  call  for  education  to  advance 
thousands.  Names  are  widely  advertised  to- 
day, such  as  The  Wake-up  School,  The  School 
of  Great  Achievement,  Forward  March  School, 
The  College  of  Fair  Letters,  and  similar  desig- 
nations. 

The  government  is  trying  to  find  some  way 
to  handle  the  educational  question  and  keep  it 
from  running  away  with  the  state : a set  of  rules 
and  regulations  has  just  been  issued  by  which 
all  the  odds  and  ends  and  little  facts  and  great 
shall  be  known  about  all  the  schools  in  all  the 
land,  whether  the  School  of  Great  Achieve- 
ment or  the  College  of  Fair  Letters. 

This  wild  thirst  for  knowledge  has  never 
been  seen  before,  was  unheard  of  till  the  pres- 
ent day ; now  it  is  realized,  and  the  thirsty  man 
will  drink.  Books  are  pouring  out  of  the 


Special  Providences 


H5 


presses,  such  as  Kyung-kuk  Mi-tam,  which  tells 
the  immortal  story  of  Athens  and  Sparta ; one 
about  Madame  Roland,  one  about  Garfield,  one 
on  Garibaldi,  one  on  the  time  of  King  John  of 
England,  on  Algebra,  Trigonometry,  Meta- 
physics, Surveying  and  many  other  subjects. 

Groups  of  young  men  are  seen  going  about 
with  light  red-ringed  poles  and  tables  for  re- 
cording every  angle  and  measuring  every  hill. 

The  difference  in  time  represented  by  a map  of 
the  city  made  ten  years  ago  and  one  made  to- 
day by  these  young  surveyors  is  the  difference 
between  the  days  of  Balaam  the  prophet  and 
Edison  the  seer. 

One  young  man,  an  earnest  Christian,  and  New  CurrentE 

JO’  ’ of  Interest 

altogether  a gentleman,  has  the  name  of  being 
the  best  teacher  of  mathematics  in  the  city.  He 
is  worn  down  by  the  incessant  calls  on  his  time. 

He  teaches  an  hour  here  and  then  dashes  off  in 
his  jinrickisha  to  teach  an  hour  yonder.  On  into 
the  night  he  keeps  up  this  treadmill  till  his  face 
is  pale  and  his  body  worn  down  by  the  grind 
of  it.  Hundreds  of  young  men  are  after  him 
like  hounds  on  the  scent.  Fathers  who  yester- 
day whiffed  the  pipe  of  indifference  and  rumi- 
nated of  Yo  and  Sun,  are  but  ghosts  and  shades 
compared  with  these  sons  and  daughters  of 


146 


Korea  in  Transition 


A Revolution 


Public  Utilities 


theirs  who  care  not  a rap  for  the  Yellow  Em- 
peror of  China,  2300  B.  C.,  but  want  to  know 
why  x minus  y multiplied  by  x plus  y equals  x 
square  minus  y square. 

This  is  not  the  French  Revolution  and  there 
is  no  Feast  of  Pikes,  but  a revolution  it  is,  and 
a kicking  off  of  old  shackles  and  feet-clamps 
and  such  a breaking  of  rusted  links  as  the  East 
never  saw  before.  What  will  the  end  be?  It 
will  be  that  this  old  picturesque  corner  of  the 
world  will  become  prosaic  West,  and  the  sub- 
ject thereof  will  be  a good  or  bad  man  accord- 
ing as  he  meets  with  the  good  or  bad  to  lead 
the  way. 

Already  we  have  electric  cars  running  the 
length  of  the  city,  managed  by  Koreans,  and 
they  make  first-class  motormen ; a line  of  steel 
rails  stretches  the  length  of  the  peninsula  and 
couples  it  on  to  Europe  and  the  Western  world. 
Hydrants  all  along  Bell  Street  bubble  with 
water  from  the  river  five  miles  away,  pure  and 
safe,  compared  with  the  pestiferous  wells  from 
which  the  people  of  the  city  formerly  drank. 
Young  men  of  to-day  talk  of  hygiene  and  mi- 
crobes and  bacteria,  so  that  the  old  conserva- 
tive who  does  not  believe  a word  of  it  sees  his 
world  drifting  from  beneath  his  feet. 


Special  Providences 


147 


In  a most  providential  and  wonderful  way, 
Korea  has  been  preserved  as  a sort  of  model  of 
Bible  times  and  Bible  lands.  In  the  early  days 
of  missionary  experience  so  many  of  these  asso- 
ciations crossed  one’s  path  that  we  walked  as 
in  a dream ; later,  familiarity  somewhat  dulled 
the  consciousness  of  them,  and  they  are  for- 
gotten or  overlooked,  but  even  yet  after  twenty 
years,  notwithstanding  all  the  changes  that 
have  occurred,  voices  and  scenes  call  up  the 
days  of  David  and  Daniel,  Peter  and  Paul. 

When  a man  bows  down,  low  down,  or  wor- 
ships before  God,  his  face  is  literally  in  the  dust, 
and  his  brow  touches  the  ground.  Thus  David 
bowed  before  Saul1,  and  thus  Saul  bowed  be- 
fore the  ghost  of  Samuel2.  All  about  us  are 
salutations  of  “Peace”,  “Peace”,  “Go  in 
peace”,  “Sleep  in  peace”,  “Eat  in  peace”,  “Rest 
in  peace”,  “Pyung-an,  Pynng-an” , as  the  old 
Hebrews  said  “Shalom”  or  the  Moslems  still 
to-day  say  “Salaam”.  It  calls  up  the  Savior’s 
words  in  John  xiv.  27.  It  was  the  salutation 
in  his  time;  it  is  the  salutation  in  Korea  to-day. 
When  the  native  reads  the  Bible  it  speaks  of 
peace  to  him,  and  it  speaks  it  in  a much  more 

1 1 Sam.  xxiv.  8. 

* i Sam.  xxviii.  14. 


A Model  of 
Scripture  Time 


Salutations 


148 


Korea  in  Transition 


References  to 
Marriage  and 
Other  Customs 


The  Caw  of 
Sacrifice 


intelligible  way  than  it  does  to  the  American 
or  European. 

“Behold,  the  bridegroom ! Come  ye  forth  to 
meet  him.”  Here  he  comes  mounted  high  on 
his  white  charger,  with  royal  robes  on,  accom- 
panied by  an  army  of  glad  retainers  who  shout, 
“Clear  the  way,  the  bridegroom  cometh.”  How 
much  it  seems  like  dreamland.  All  untouched 
by  the  rest  of  the  world,  these  customs  have 
held  till  Jesus  came,  and  thus  his  words  and 
his  times  are  most  familiar;  thus  too  the 
watches  of  the  night,  and  the  cockcrow  of  the 
morning. 

The  great  law  of  sacrifice,  so  dimly  under- 
stood by  Western  people,  is  the  commonest  talk 
of  Korea.  For  thousands  of  years  sheep  and 
oxen  have  died  for  the  sins  of  the  people.  Birds 
and  beasts  have  been  offered  in  a vain  effort  to 
lift  this  burden  from  the  human  soul.  I read 
in  a history  of  Korea  that  in  the  year  when  our 
Savior  was  born  in  Bethlehem,  the  king  of 
Kokuryu  went  out  into  the  open  plain  to  offer 
sacrifice  to  God.  Two  ‘swine  beasts’  were  to  be 
offered,  but  in  the  preparation  of  the  sacrifice 
they  took  to  their  heels  and  ran  away.  The 
king  sent  two  officers  in  pursuit,  Messrs.  Takni 
and  Sappi.  They  chased  the  pigs  to  Long  Jade 


Special  Providences 


149 


Lake,  caught  them  and  hamstrung  them,  so 
that  they  could  not  run  again;  then  they 
dragged  them  before  the  king.  “How  dare 
you”,  said  he,  “offer  to  God  a mutilated  sacri- 
fice?” He  had  these  two  gentlemen  buried 
alive  for  their  sin,  but  behold  he  himself  shortly 
after  fell  seriously  ill.  A spirit  medium  called 
and  told  him  his  sickness  was  due  to  the  sin  of 
having  killed  Takni  and  Sappi.  He  confessed, 
and  prayed,  and  was  cured  of  his  complaint. 

In  this  story  old  as  our  era,  we  read  of  the 
need  of  a sacrifice  to  God,  of  a perfect  sacrifice, 
of  sin  being  followed  by  punishment,  of  for- 
giveness following  confession.  A race  drilled 
in  stories  like  this  find  no  difficulty  in  the  great 
vicarious  sufferings  of  Jesus.  His  perfect  of- 
fering is  simplicity  itself ; his  forgiveness  of 
sin  the  logical  outcome  of  his  whole  attitude  of 
heart. 

The  expression,  “Girt  about  the  breasts  with 
a golden  girdle,”1  is  never  quite  clear  to  a 
young  Bible  reader  at  home,  and  Giina  and 
Japan  cast  no  special  light  upon  it ; but  in  Korea 
there  was  the  long  white  robe  down  to  the  feet, 
and  round  the  breast  the  embroidered  girdle.  It 
remained  until  after  the  missionary  arrived, 


Ideas  Long 
Prevalent 


References  to 
Dress 


1 Rev.  i.  13. 


Korea  in  Transition 


150 

and  then  in  the  changes  of  the  new  century  the 
girdle  was  swept  away.  The  white  robes  too 
find  their  corresponding  part  in  Scripture,  and 
the  expression,  “So  as  no  fuller  on  earth  can 
whiten  them,”1  often  came  to  mind  in  the  old 
days,  when  out  of  the  little  squalid  huts  came 
forth  coats  that  shone  like  polished  marble. 

Foot-gear  Then  there  is  the  foot-gear  or  sandals. 

Neither  China  nor  Japan  so  markedly  reflects 
Scripture  in  this  respect  as  Korea.  Here  are 
the  strings  tied  over  the  instep,  here  the  humble 
servant  is  called  to  bow  down  and  unloose 
them.  As  in  Judea,  they  are  never  worn  in- 
doors but  are  dropped  off  on  the  entrance-mat. 

TheBed  “Take  up  thy  bed,  and  walk,”2  seemed  to 

the  writer  in  his  boyhood  days  as  a most  ex- 
traordinary expression.  He  pictured  a four- 
posted  bed  being  tugged  out  of  a bedroom  by 
one  poor  man  only  just  recovered  of  his  sick- 
ness; but  when  he  came  to  Korea,  he  under- 
stood it  all.  The  bed  was  just  a little  mattress 
spread  out  on  the  floor  of  the  living-room,  and 
to  roll  it  up  and  put  it  away  was  the  common 
act  of  every  morning  when  the  sleeper  awoke. 
Morning  light  and  consciousness  had  come  into 


1 Mark  ix.  3. 
s Mark  ii.  9,  10. 


Special  Providences  15  i 

the  life  of  the  poor  invalid,  so  he  would  roll 
up  his  sleeping-mat  and  walk  off  to  where  it 
was  put  for  the  day.  In  so  many  of  the  com- 
mon acts  of  life  in  Korea  we  were  in  touch  with 
the  days  of  our  Lord  on  earth. 

Especially  are  Koreans  inquisitive  and  curi- 
ous as  to  custom.  Had  the  Scriptures  been 
filled  with  Western  ways  of  life,  it  would  have 
taken  all  day  and  all  these  years  to  tell  what 
this  and  that  meant;  but,  as  they  talk  from 
first  to  last  about  Korea’s  own  world  and  own 
people,  there  are  few  or  no  questions  as  to 
custom. 

How  far  away  the  Bible  seems  to  us  when 
it  tells  of  sackcloth  and  ashes,  and  about  Jacob1 
and  Mordecai2  and  Isaiah3  who  marked  their 
desolation  by  these  signs.  In  Korea  sackcloth 
is  still  such  a mark,  and  with  hair  unbound  and 
their  persons  wrapped  about  with  these  coarse 
folds  of  bagging,  they  sit  like  Job  and  cry 
“Aigo,  aigo.”  “And  the  mourners  go  about 
the  streets.”  From  the  writer’s  house  we  look 
out  on  one  of  the  main  thoroughfares  of  the 
city;  and  frequently,  as  the  sun  goes  down, 
there  comes  a procession  bearing  lanterns  and  a 
long  line  of  mourners  in  sackcloth  following 


Forestalls  a 
Multitude  of 
Questions 


Sackcloth  and 
Ashes 


1 Gen.  xxxvii.  34.  * Esther  iv.  7.  * Isa.  lviii.  5. 


Idolatry 


Demon 

Possession 


152  Korea  in  Transition 

the  dead  with  mournful  wailings.  Is  there  not 
a thought  and  a providence  underlying  the  one- 
ness of  these  things  with  all  the  settings  of  the 
Scripture? 

What  grinning  teeth  and  glaring  eyes  meet 
you  on  the  highways  and  byways  of  Korea 
that  you  unconsciously  associate  with  Dagon, 
Moloch,  Chemosh,  and  Baal,  and  other  gods 
and  idols  to  whom  Israel  bowed  down.  Amer- 
ica has  heard  of  idols,  has  seen  them  in  muse- 
ums, has  looked  on  them  through  the  pages  of 
Scripture,  but  to  see  an  idol  actually  in  com- 
mand of  his  own  and  at  work  would  be  thought 
almost  an  impossibility. 

Another  fact  that  brings  the  people  closely 
into  touch  with  Christian  thought  is  their 
understanding  of  demon  possession.  They  ac- 
cept it  as  a something  not  to  be  questioned  any 
more  than  their  own  existence;  demons  are 
everywhere,  and  the  casting  of  them  out  a 
lucrative  profession.  “By  thy  name  cast  out 
demons;”1  “He  cast  out  the  spirits  with  a 
word;”2  “Authority  to  cast  out  demons;”3 
“Mary  Magdalene,  from  whom  he  had  cast 
seven  demons.”4  We  of  the  West  read  these 
statements  as  if  they  belonged  to  another 

• Matt.  vii.  22.  2 Matt.  viii.  16.  * Mark  iii.  15.  * Mark  xvi.  9. 


Special  Providences 


153 


planet.  We  question  the  whole  subject  of 
demon  possession.  Can  it  not  be  diagnosed  by 
the  doctors?  Will  not  a tablet  or  a pill  settle 
the  matter?  Is  it  not  the  misunderstanding  of 
an  unenlightened  age?  All  of  these  questions 
put  us  so  much  out  of  touch  with  the  story. 

The  Korean’s  doubts  are  along  another  line. 

Can  Jesus  really  cast  them  out?  That’s  the 
question.  Big  devils  as  well  and  wicked?  Is 
this  all  true,  and  does  he  care  for  the  possessed 
and  the  imprisoned  ? “The  devil  we  know  and 
demon  possession  we  are  sure  of,  but  just  who 
is  Jesus?”  Surely  the  Korean’s  preparatory 
course  has  been  eminently  one  to  fit  him  for 
the  reading  and  appreciating  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment. 

He  attributes  sickness  in  so  many  cases  to  sickness 
the  influence  of  malignant  spirits.  “Divers 
diseases,”1  is  a phrase  terribly  applicable  to  the 
filth,  poverty,  and  teeming  multitudes  of  the 
East.  The  twisted  limbs,  the  blinded  eyes,  the 
diseased  and  marred  bodies,  were  all  invited, 
yes,  and  are  all  invited  to  come  to  Jesus,  and 
according  to  your  faith  it  shall  be  unto  you. 
Assuredly  God  can  take  the  wrath,  the  mean- 
ness, the  sores,  the  impurity,  the  leprous  spots. 


* Matt.  iv.  24;  Mark  i.  34;  Luke  iv.  40. 


154 


Korea  in  Transition 


A Gentleman 


Points  Making 

Koreans 

Receptive 


of  men  and  make  them  servants  to  minister  to 
his  honor  and  glory. 

The  representative  Korean  is  a man  some- 
thing like  Nicodemus,  a gentleman  by  instinct, 
habit,  and  manner  of  speech.  He  came  by  night 
to  see  Jesus,  afraid  that  he  would  lose  “face”  by 
coming  in  the  daytime.  Korean-like,  he  begins 
by  a high  expression  of  regard,  “Teacher  come 
from  God”;  by  a honorific,  he  knows  Jesus  is 
true;  he  wants  to  follow  him,  his  heart  is  pre- 
pared for  the  seed  that  falls,  and  eventually  he 
comes  in  at  a critical  moment  for  a service  of 
high  honor.  May  it  be  with  Korea  as  it  was 
at  last  with  Nicodemus,  a place  of  special  con- 
secration at  the  close  of  this  gospel  age!  The 
gentleness  of  this  people,  their  appreciation  of 
high  morals,  notwithstanding  the  lack  of  the 
same  in  their  own  history,  their  exalting  of 
principles  of  right,  is  a preparation  for  the 
gospel  call. 

Outwardly,  by  habit,  custom,  and  ceremonial 
form,  they  are  equipped  to  understand  the 
Bible;  the  air  they  breathe  seems  impregnated 
with  the  flavor  of  the  days  of  Christ ; the  mov- 
ings  of  their  world  are  along  the  lines  of 
ancient  Palestine;  their  inner  thoughts  are  re- 
corded in  the  Scriptures;  their  superstitions 


Special  Providences 


155 


just  as  they  were  in  the  days  of  Israel’s  decline; 
their  understanding  of  spiritual  forces  just 
what  the  nations  round  Judea  understood  them 
to  be;  their  conclusions  concerning  life  what 
the  worldly  of  the  Bible  concluded  life  to  be. 

To  meet  these  conditions,  is  this  wonderful 
language,  Un-mun.  Like  the  shot  that  hit  the 
target,  it  strikes  squarely  into  the  opportunity 
of  to-day,  and  prepares  the  land  for  what  God 
is  asking  of  it.  Nationally  last,  least,  and  less 
than  nothing,  how  beautifully  is  Korea  suited 
to  God’s  hand ! At  just  this  time,  too,  mission- 
ary boards  are  awake,  and  new  forces  are  press- 
ing in.  Yesterday  Korea  sat  weeping  over  her 
disbanded  soldiers,  to-day  she  welcomes  the 
army  of  salvation  to  take  the  vacated  and  deso- 
lated place.  Through  these  things  a multitude 
of  providences  seem  to  shine  and  shimmer 
forth. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  V 

Amt  To  Understand  the  Providential  Encourage- 
ments to  Missionary  Work  in  Korea 

I.  The  Providences  of  History  and  Geography. 

I.  State  as  vividly  as  you  can  the  contrast  be- 
tween the  exclusiveness  of  Korea  thirty  years 
ago  and  the  situation  to-daj<. 


Providential 

Encouragement* 


156 


Korea  in  Transition 


2.  How  completely  has  God  answered  the  prayers 
that  the  doors  of  Korea  might  be  opened? 

3.  What  has  he  done  to  call  the  country  into 
public  prominence? 

4.  Why  must  it  inevitably  remain  in  public 
prominence? 

5.  Of  what  advantage  has  it  been  that  the  most 
representative  foreigner  has  been  the  mis- 
sionary ? 

6.  Why  does  the  size  of  Korea  fit  it  for  becom- 
ing a missionary  object-lesson  to  the  Far  East? 

7.  Could  you  choose  a more  favorable  geograph- 
ical position  for  such  an  object-lesson? 

8. *  Why  has  Christianity  a better  chance  to  ally 

itself  with  Korean  than  with  Chinese  or  Jap- 
anese patriotism? 

9. *  Sum  up  the  message  of  Christianity  to  a peo- 

ple in  political  distress. 

II.  The  Providences  of  Language  and  Literature. 

10.  Name  several  advantages  to  missionary  work 
arising  from  the  currency  of  a single  spoken 
language  thrqughout  an  entire  country. 

11.  What  would  be  the  disadvantages  to  a nation 
of  knowing  only  the  Roman  numeral  system? 

12.  Would  this  be  such  an  obstacle  to  progress  as 
having  only  the  Chinese  character  for  literary 
purposes? 

13. *  What  are  the  advantages  to  Christianity  of 

having  so  promptly  appropriated  the  Unmun 
script? 

14.  As  far  as  literature  is  concerned,  what  would 
be  the  relative  difficulty  of  evangelizing  Korea 
and  a province  of  China  of  the  same  size  and 
population  ? 


Special  Providences 


157 


15.  What  practical  effect  should  the  Korean  re- 
spect for  literature  have  upon  the  training 
and  methods  of  missionaries? 

16. *  What  advantages  has  the  missionary  in  Korea 

over  the  average  African  missionary  in  his 
evangelistic  work? 

17. *  In  view  of  present  providences,  make  as 

strong  an  appeal  as  you  can  for  evangelistic, 
literary,  and  educational  missionaries  for 
Korea  to-day. 

18.  What  practical  recommendations  would  you 
make  to  the  Church  at  home  as  to  the  support 
of  educational  institutions  in  Korea? 

19.  In  what  ways  is  the  present  a greater  oppor- 
tunity for  education  than  either  the  past  or 
the  future? 

20.  How  would  you  translate,  ‘‘Behold  the  Lamb 
of  God,”  for  a people  that  had  no  sheep  and 
no  sacrifices? 

21.  In  what  ways  would  it  be  more  difficult  to 
translate  the  Bible  into  Esquimo  than  into 
Korean  ? 

22. *  Arrange  the  principal  providences  of  mission- 

ary work  in  Korea  in  what  seems  to  you  the 
order  of  their  importance. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  V 
I.  Korean  Education. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XXVI. 
Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  ch.  XIII  (up 
to  1896). 

Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  387-391. 
Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
PP-  303,  304- 


PIONEER  METHODS  OF  THE 
MISSIONARIES 


The  missionary  body  in  Korea  is  made  up  of  a very  superior 
company  of  men  and  women.  Both  sexes  are  apt  to  be  col- 
lege graduates,  while  the  men  are  in  addition  graduates  of 
seminaries  or  medical  schools.  Quite  a number  have  shown 
marked  scholarship  in  the  study  of  the  language,  in  interpre- 
tation and  translation,  and  in  general  literature.  Historical 
and  descriptive  works  of  value  have  been  published  by  them, 
while  at  least  one  extended  and  well-received  romance  is 
the  result  of  one  man’s  leisure,  and  another  was  a contributor 
to  some  of  our  best  magazines. 

— Horace  N.  Allen 

In  the  spring  of  1890,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Nevius,  of  Cheefoo, 
China,  visited  Seoul,  and  in  several  conferences  laid  before  the 
missionaries  there  the  method  of  mission  work  commonly 
known  as  the  Nevius  method.  After  careful  and  prayerful 
consideration,  we  were  led,  in  the  main,  to  adopt  this,  and  it 
has  been  the  policy  of  the  mission  first,_  to  let  each  man 
"abide  in  the  calling  wherein  he  was  found,”  teaching  that 
each  was  to  be  an  individual  worker  for  Christ,  and  to  live 
Christ  in  his  own  neighborhood,  supporting  himself  by  his 
trade. 

Secondly,  to  develop  Church  methods  and  machinery  only 
as  far  as  the  native  Church  was  able  to  take  care  of  and 
manage  the  same. 

Third,  as  far  as  the  Church  itself  was  able  to  provide  the 
men  and  the  means,  to  set  aside  those  who  seemed  the  better 
qualified,  to  do  evangelistic  work  among  their  neighbors. 

Fourth,  to  let  the  natives  provide  their  own  church  build- 
ings, which  were  to  be  native  in  architecture,  and  of  such 
style  as  the  local  church  could  afford  to  put  up. 

- — Horace  C.  Underv:ood 


VI 


PIONEER  METHODS  OF  THE 
MISSIONARIES 

On  April  5,  1885,  H.  G.  Underwood,  the 
first  clerical  missionary,  landed  in  Korea.  Al- 
ready the  Roman  Catholics  had  been  in  the 
country  for  forty-eight  years;  already  a New 
Testament  had  been  printed  in  the  native  script 
by  John  Ross  of  Mukden;  already  Chinese 
books  had  reached  the  peninsula;  already 
many  rumors  of  the  Christian  and  the  Chris- 
tian’s God  had  crossed  the  northern  border. 

Many  priests  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
native,  Chinese,  and  foreign,  had  been  tortured 
and  put  to  death,  and  there  was  a fear  as- 
sociated with  the  foreign  religion.  Natives 
still  pointed  out  the  place  by  the  Han  River 
where  Bishop  Berneux  and  eight  priests  had 
been  beheaded.  Jesus  and  Mary  were  names 
with  which  to  stop  the  heart-beat.  One  old 
dame  who  had  seen  it  all,  and  had  outlived  the 
reign  of  terror,  in  telling  it  to  the  writer  forty 
years  afterward,  would  not  speak  above  her 
breath.  I asked:  “Is  your  heart  at  peace?” 

161 


First  Entrance 


Persecute* 


Korea  in  Transition 


foreigners 


The  Pioneers 


162 

She  replied  “Whist,  Yesu-Maria,  my  sons  were 
in  it  you  know,  Yesu-Maria,  Yesu-Maria.” 
Although  there  has  grown  up,  little  by  little,  a 
distinction  between  Yesu  Kyo  (Protestantism) 
and  C’hun-ju  Kyo  (Catholicism)  it  was  not 
recognized  at  first,  and  the  dread  associated 
with  the  one  gathered  about  the  other. 

Western  people  too,  as  well  as  their  doc- 
trines, were  unsavory.  There  had  been  an 
American  ship  captured  and  its  crew  massacred 
in  Ping  yang,  in  1866.  In  the  same  year  a 
French  expedition  was  fitted  out  against  Kang- 
hwa.  In  1871,  Americans  had  come  in  many 
ships  and  fought  likewise.  In  1875,  the  Jap- 
anese came  and  fought  too,  so  that  the  West 
and  the  Japanese  were  alike.  Kanghwa,  the 
island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Han  River,  has  been 
a broad  target  for  all  shots,  from  the  days  of 
Kublai  Khan  (1225)  to  Admiral  Rodgers  and 
Commodore  Shufeldt  (1867,  1871,  1883). 

Fortunately  the  missionary  entered  Korea 
with  many  things  arrayed  against  him.  Had 
everything  been  in  his  favor,  his  work  would 
have  been  easy  and  very  badly  done,  but  he 
had  to  fight  every  inch  of  the  way.  Let  the 
reader  think  what  he  would  do  first,  if  he  were 
asked  to  transport  America  over  to  the  East 


Pioneer  Methods  163 

piecemeal,  where  would  he  begin,  what  would 
he  ship  first,  and  when  would  he  expect  to  get 
through  ? About  as  bewildering  a problem  is 
it  to  carry  the  gospel  to  an  entirely  new  race 
and  new  people,  having  to  place  before  each 
person,  little  by  little,  our  motives,  our  expec- 
tations, our  customs,  our  hearts  especially, 
ere  we  can  get  into  tune  to  begin  Bible  work 
and  Scripture  teaching.  Let  us  be  thankful 
that  the  pioneers  were  just  the  right  men  for 
the  work  on  hand.  While  the  Hon.  H.  N. 
Allen,  M.  D.,  as  a medical  missionary  opened 
the  work,  in  the  mind  of  the  writer  he  is  dis- 
associated from  the  missionary  list.  He  was 
a diplomatist,  from  his  first  entry  till  the  close 
of  his  distinguished  career,  in  1905.  His  name 
stands  high  in  Korea,  honored  and  beloved  by 
native  as  well  as  foreigner,  for  he  served  many 
years  in  behalf  of  Americans  and  this  people 
faithfully  and  well. 

But  of  missionaries  proper,  Underwood  and 
Appenzeller  were  the  clerical,  and  Heron  and 
Scranton  the  medical.  It  needed  men  of  cour- 
age, men  of  vision,  men  of  courtly  manner, 
men  of  magnetism ; it  needed  also  men  of 
strong  conviction  and  physical  endurance,  and 
we  had  such  qualifications  in  these  four.  Of 


Qualities 

Needed 


164 


Korea  in  Transition 


Counter- 

considerations 


the  Presbyterians,  the  writer  recalls  a day  in 
1888,  his  first  tiffin  in  Seoul.  Ten  were  at  the 
table,  among  them  these  two  pioneers.  To- 
day after  a score  of  years,  he  is  alone  on 
the  field  of  all  the  ten.  When  he  thinks  back 
over  that  first  bright  company  of  the  young 
hearts,  each  with  life  offered  for  Korea,  of  the 
hopes,  of  the  vacant  places  now,  of  the  long 
farewells,  he  would  bow  his  head  and  repeat 
slowly : 

•'They  climbed  the  steep  ascent  to  heaven. 
Through  peril,  toil,  and  pain; 

O God ! to  us  may  grace  be  given 
To  follow  in  their  train.” 

The  considerations  that  have  acted  against 
the  work  have  run  somewhat  as  follows:  For 
the  first  few  years  it  was  dangerous  to  be  a 
Christian,  it  was  counted  the  same  as  Roman 
Catholic,  and  Roman  Catholics  had  been 
slaughtered  by  the  thousands.  Later  it  was 
not  dangerous,  but  it  was  cheap,  common; 
butchers,  and  basket-makers,  and  well-diggers, 
and  shopkeepers,  and  coolies  were  all  admitted ; 
certainly  it  was  no  calling  for  a gentleman. 
Still  later,  in  stirring  political  times,  it  was 
the  popular  thing  to  be  a Christian,  till  it  was 
discovered  that  the  Church  was  “hands  off’’ 


Pioneer  Methods  165 

as  regards  Caesar,  that  it  was  apathetic  and 
no  man  with  “sand”  in  his  make  up  or  “ gin- 
ger” in  his  blood  could  afford  to  be  a Chris- 
tian. The  converts  seemed  to  sit  by  and  see 
the  country  go  to  the  dogs,  so  it  was  not  for 
the  patriot.  Last  of  all  the  Church  was  not  an 
enemy  of  Japan  or  the  Japanese,  therefore  it 
was  no  good;  it  was  neither  for  nor  against, 
it  was  lukewarm,  and  the  moving  spirits  of  the 
land  laughed  it  to  scorn. 

Still,  in  spite  of  opposition  and  seasons  of 
great  unpopularity,  it  forged  ahead.  God 
seems  to  love  lines  of  greatest  resistance,  for 
only  when  forces  are  arrayed  against  him  does 
his  power  show  forth.  Along  these  lines  has 
it  gone,  till,  gathered  in  one  church  meeting 
to-day,  you  can  see  princes,  well-diggers,  cab- 
inet secretaries,  butchers,  merchants,  distin- 
guished literati,  the  poor,  the  rich,  Joseph  of 
Arimathaea,  blind  Bartimaeus,  educationalists, 
students,  clerks  of  the  law  department,  ex- 
governors, vice-ministers,  and  in  short  people 
of  every  condition  and  station.  Into  all  classes 
of  society  has  the  gospel  gone,  and  bearing 
down  all  opposition,  carried  with  it  proofs  of 
its  power  to  save. 

In  pioneer  work  there  are,  without  question, 


Opposition 

Steadily 

Overcome 


Hardships 


Korea  in  Transition 


i 66 


Sitting  on  the 
Heated  Stone 
Floor 


hardships,  but  there  are  also  compensations 
great  and  wonderful.  The  writer  can  best  il- 
lustrate what  all  other  missionaries  have  passed 
through  by  telling  a little  of  his  own  first  ex- 
periences. What  were  the  hardships?  There 
are  seven  of  them,  complete  and  fully  rounded 
out  as  to  number. 

First,  should  be  mentioned  sitting  all  day  on 
the  heated  stone  floor.  You  ask,  “Why  not 
use  a chair?”  Because  it  would  be  as  much 
out  of  place  as  if  a Korean  should  call  on  you 
and,  instead  of  sitting  on  a chair,  should  sit 
on  the  floor  and  talk  up  at  you.  It  would  put 
you  out  of  touch  at  once  with  the  very  world 
you  were  endeavoring  to  get  at.  Let  the  reader 
try  sitting  cross-kneed  for  three  hours  at  a 
stretch,  if  he  would  fully  understand  this  para- 
graph. To  some  it  becomes  a veritable  tor- 
ture-rack, knees  and  hip- joints  and  ankle  bones 
are  crying  out  against  you.  You  rest  this  one 
and  the  others  only  scream  the  louder.  There 
is  nothing  for  it  but  a chair  or  to  go  out  for  a 
walk.  Still  the  sitting  life  is  a part  of  your 
calling,  and  in  the  early  days  it  was  absolutely 
necessary. 

Second,  the  sleeping.  For  those  of  us  who 
have  slept  for  some  years  as  the  Koreans  do, 


Sleeping  on  the 
Heated  Floor 


Pioneer  Methods 


167 


on  the  hot  floor,  it  was  practise  in  the  science 
of  being  baked  brown.  On  many  a cold  night 
the  floor  seemed  at  first  grateful,  but  as  the 
hours  went  by  the  room  became  a Dutch  oven, 
and  you  were  being  cooked.  All  night  the 
tossings  and  the  tumblings  would  continue, 
mixed  with  fire  and  labored  dreamings,  the 
room  stifled  for  want  of  ventilation,  and  the 
whole  universe  apparently  in  torment. 

Third,  the  food.  Instead  of  fruit,  cereals, 
bacon  and  eggs,  a cup  of  coffee,  you  would  be 
served  with  rice  for  breakfast,  cabbage  and 
turnips  in  salt  water,  dried  fish  shredded,  red 
pepper  soup,  and  other  preparations,  the  odor 
thereof  being  strong.  Epicurean-like,  your 
whole  being  would  long  for  a mutton-chop, 
pancakes,  hot  biscuits,  ice-cream,  and  other 
favorite  dishes,  but  in  all  the  flavors  of  the 
busy  day  not  one  of  these  was  present. 

Fourth,  the  crowds  of  men.  How  they 
would  trample  over  you!  To  quote  from  The 
Vanguard:  “On  into  the  night  his  room  was 
the  rendezvous  for  all  classes.  Men  with  Mon- 
gol thoughts  and  fetid  breath  sat  cross-kneed 
about  him,  shouting  all  manner  of  useless  ques- 
tions over  and  over,  proposing  that  he  measure 
his  strength  of  arm  with  them,  asking  for  his 


Food 


Crowds 


Korea  in  Transition 


Vermin 


1 68 

hat  and  boots  to  try  on.”  Frequently  when 
night  came  three  or  four  of  these  callers  would 
stretch  out  on  the  floor  of  the  seven  by  eight 
by  ten  room  to  sleep,  the  hottest  end  of  the 
bake-oven  being  given  to  the  foreigner  as  a 
mark  of  honor.  Every  door  was  closed  and  no 
chink  of  ventilation  was  allowed  open  lest 
Horan  gee,  the  tiger,  come  and  eat  you.  These 
people  were  never  unkind  or  impolite,  but  the 
endless  crowds  of  men  wore  one’s  soul  down. 
You  never  seemed  to  make  any  headway.  A 
new  crowd  would  come,  and  all  the  old  salu- 
tations and  explanations  would  have  to  be  gone 
over.  Never  before  did  we  realize  what  the 
world  would  be  without  woman,  no  woman’s 
voice,  no  evidence  of  woman’s  hand,  none  of 
the  refinements  of  society  that  are  seen  only  in 
the  world  of  emancipated  women,  but  only 
coarse-grown,  greedy,  sensual  men,  full  of 
pride  and  empty  egotism. 

Fifth,  vermin.  Where  Buddha  has  had  a 
hand  and  a hearing,  there  vermin  exist  and 
are  glad.  Some  are  large  enough  to  be  seen, 
some  so  small  that  you  might  mistake  them  for 
nothing.  Like  the  cholera  comma  bacillus,  they 
are  not  to  be  measured  by  a foot-rule,  but  it 
seems  to  me  that  they  are  more  terrible  than 


Pioneer  Methods 


169 


an  army  with  banners  and  field-guns.  It  would 
be  quite  improper  to  go  into  details  of  the  fight. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  during  those  early  years 
mountains  of  agony  seemed  to  overwhelm  one, 
whereas  the  cause  was  but  the  merest  trifle, 
not  large  enough  to  put  a pin  through  or  fasten 
onto  the  cardboard  of  a natural  history 
museum. 

Sixth,  sickness  and  death.  The  loathsome, 
fearsome  nature  of  disease  is  never  seen  till  you 
go  as  a missionary  to  some  benighted,  idol- 
beridden  land.  There  you  see  sickness  in  all 
its  lurid  colors.  Just  one  example:  I was  to 
take  a meeting  at  a neighboring  house,  and  the 
master  had  come  to  show  the  way.  He  re- 
marked, “We  have  ‘pimples’  at  our  house  just 
now,  so  the  meeting  will  be  all  the  better.”  Just 
what  kind  of  pimples  possessed  his  house  I 
did  question,  but  did  not  guess.  When  I ar- 
rived, the  wife  came  out  to  greet  me.  All  were 
so  glad  that  the  nioksa  was  to  lead  the  meet- 
ing. Pimples!  I should  think  so!  There  sat 
the  wife’s  brother  at  the  doorway  just  covered 
with  smallpox  pustules.  My  first  impulse  was 
to  go  away,  but  on  second  thought  that  did  not 
seem  satisfactory.  God  had  brought  me,  I 
must  stay.  We  had  the  meeting.  “Jesus  walk- 


Sickness  and 
Death 


170 


Korea  in  Transition* 


Pagan  and 
Christian  Usage 


ing  on  the  water”  was  the  subject.  The  patient 
would  sometimes  cry,  and  then  again  he  would 
stifle  his  agony,  brighten  up,  and  listen.  “Sit 
over  there,”  said  I,  “there’s  a draft  here  where 
I am  sitting.”  I was  so  thankful  there  was  a 
draft. 

Death,  ever  present  all  the  world  over,  how 
softened  his  grim  visage  is  when  associated 
with  the  name  of  Jesus,  how  awful  when  he 
appears  alone.  The  writer  still  recalls  one  sum- 
mer long  ago,  May,  1889,  when  funeral  prep- 
arations were  being  made  before  a neighbor- 
ing house.  He  made  inquiry  of  An,  his  host: 
“I  didn’t  know  that  there  was  a death.”  “Yes, 
the  master  of  the  house  is  dead ; they  will  bury 
him.”  “But  when  did  he  die?  To-day  when 
we  w*ere  out?”  “No,  no,  not  to-day.  He  died 
before  you  came.”  I had  been  there  two 
months.  They  had  a bier  ornamented  with 
dragons’  heads,  painted  in  wild  colors,  that 
suggested  skull  and  cross-bones.  The  funeral 
service  was  a fearful  row,  everybody  was 
noisy,  many  were  weeping,  many  were  drunk. 
A more  gruesome  performance  than  that  which 
I saw,  over  that  horrible,  unburied  body,  no  one 
could  imagine.  To-day  that  same  village  sits 
as  it  did  then,  with  background  of  mountain 


Pioneer  Methods  171 

and  foreground  of  sea,  but  how  changed!  All 
is  Christian,  Sunday  is  a day  of  rest,  and  every 
house  is  represented  at  the  service  in  the  chapel. 
They  have  lived  down  old-fashioned  death  in 
that  village  and  exchanged  it  for  quiet  sleep. 

Seventh,  the  language.  This  is  a trial 
harder  than  the  reader  can  well  imagine.  In 
a sense  you  have  to  take  the  place  of  a child 
and  prattle  in  monosyllables,  and  say  foolish 
things,  and  make  no  end  of  silly  mistakes,  and 
cover  all  your  friends  with  confusion,  over  and 
over.  You  may  be  wise,  and  think  great 
thoughts,  but  in  actual  experience  you  are  less 
than  the  least.  This  humiliation  lasts  for  a 
year  or  so,  sometimes  it  lasts  longer,  sometimes 
it  lasts  forever  and  a day.  One  often  prays, 
“O  for  the  day  of  Pentecost,  when  even  the 
illiterate  Peter  could  soar  like  the  eagle  over 
the  nations  of  the  world !”  but  it  comes  not  in 
that  way.  It  is  best  that  we  learn  little  by  little, 
and  by  a very  humble  pathway,  but  it  is  a hard- 
ship indeed. 

In  missionary  work,  first  and  foremost,  con- 
fidence must  be  established  and  the  heart  won. 
The  missionary  may  be  learned,  may  be  hard- 
working and  godly,  may  be  earnest  as  John 
Knox,  and  indefatigable  as  Mr.  Moody,  but 


The  Language 


First  Secret  in 

Missionary 

Work 


I?  2 


Korea  in  Transition 


Other  Secrets 


if  the  people  do  not  love  him,  they  will  not 
listen  to  his  doctrine.  It  is  a terrible  fact  that 
there  are  some  missionaries  on  the  field  who 
are  not  loved  by  the  people.  While  unlovely 
and  unloved,  all  they  do  is  as  wood,  hay,  and 
stubble.  As  in  wireless  telegraphy  there  must 
be  harmony  of  note  between  despatcher  and 
receiver,  so,  ere  messages  to  the  soul  pass, 
despatcher  missionary  and  receiver  Oriental 
must  be  in  tune.  What  wonders  you  can  do 
when  the  heart  is  won!  The  multitude  may 
hold  you  in  its  grip,  from  dawn  till  sunset, 
still  next  day  you  are  full  of  hope  again.  It 
is  the  missionary  in  tune  with  God  and  with 
the  heart  of  the  East  who  does  the  work.  Let 
much  emphasis  be  put  on  the  right  key  as  to 
the  heart,  for  therein  lies  the  secret 

Every  day  come  the  crowds.  What  would 
the  reader  tell  them  first,  these  brand  new 
hearers?  “Jesus,  who  is  he?”  “How  could 
God  have  a Son?”  “The  Bible?  Who 
knows?”  “Let’s  read,”  and  little  by  little  the 
work  narrows  itself  down  to  reading  together 
the  New  Testament.  Here  again  is  another 
secret  of  success.  Argument  is  of  no  avail. 
Telling  the  whole  story  by  the  half  hour  to- 
gether counts  little;  but  to  sit  down,  offer  a 


Pioneer  Methods  173 

prayer  for  God’s  light  and  leading,  and  then 
read,  means  the  entrance  of  the  Word.  An- 
other secret  is  to  leave  matters  alone  that  you 
are  not  called  upon  to  speak  of.  Read  and 
pray.  Get  Jesus  into  the  lost  soul,  and  then  an- 
cestor worship  and  rags  and  kitchen  devils  and 
filth  and  ignorance  will  dissipate,  like  the  dark- 
ness when  the  sun  shines  over  Camel  Mountain 
and  lights  up  our  hill  in  the  morning.  This 
has  been  the  way  of  the  cross  in  Korea,  not 
by  street  preaching,  not  by  great  crowds,  not 
by  spectacular  effort,  but  in  the  little  room 
seven  by  seven  by  ten,  seated  cross-kneed  on 
the  matting,  with  the  Bible  opened  and  some- 
body to  read  and  pray  with. 

Keeping  time  with  the  first  stages  of  the  The  Press 
work  is  the  press.  The  toil  and  sweat  and 
agony  that  accompanies  the  management  of  a 
Western  printing  plant  in  the  Far  Orient  baffles 
description.  There  may  be  breaks,  smashings, 
losings,  pages  with  lines  upside-down,  but 
“Never  mind,”  says  the  Orient,  “Reverse  the 
book  and  read  it  down  the  other  way,  the 
thought  is  all  right.”  Gray  hairs  come  out  like 
snowbirds  on  a wintry  day,  and  sit  all  round 
the  superintendent’s  ears,  but  he  too  has  to  keep 
heart  in  tune,  be  one  with  his  blundering  men, 


174 


Korea  in  Transition 


Demand  for 
Literature 


love  them,  and  pray  with  them.  Tliat  is  the 
main  part  of  the  lesson. 

In  Korea  from  the  day  of  Rev.  F.  OhlingePs 
setting  up  the  press  till  the  present,  when  sev- 
eral large  Japanese  and  Korean  houses  are  es- 
tablished, what  a work  of  grace  has  been  done 
by  this  Methodist  superintendent!  No  one  can 
measure  or  calculate  or  guess  in  the  least  the 
extent  to  which  his  work  has  aided  the  procla- 
mation of  the  gospel.  Not  only  the  New  Testa- 
ment and  portions,  like  the  Gospels,  have  gone 
out  in  thousands  upon  thousands,  but  tracts 
like  “The  Two  Friends”,  “The  Peep  of  Day”, 
Pilgrim’s  Progress,  and  similar  writings.  The 
struggle  to  have  the  printed  page  keep  pace 
with  the  proclamation  and  the  loud  demand 
have  gone  on  for  twenty  years,  and  to-day 
(1908)  bookmen  come,  saying,  “We  are  out 
of  books,  what  are  we  going  to  do?”  A change 
however  has  come  about.  If  the  Tract  Society 
now  fails  to  keep  up  the  supply,  individual 
Christians  publish  the  books  themselves.  Re- 
cently the  writer  was  asked  for  the  manuscript 
of  The  Life  of  Martin  Luther.  “We  must  have 
it,”  said  this  Christian  friend,  “and  as  the 
Tract  Society  is  unable  to  publish  it,  I’ll  do  so 
myself,”  and  thither  went  the  manuscript. 


Pioneer  Methods 


175 


Along  with  pioneer  missionary  effort  went 
the  translation  of  the  Scriptures;  and  what  a 
huge  undertaking  it  is  no  one  knows  who  has 
not  tried  it.  Sixty  stories  of  a life  insurance 
building  in  New  York  City  is  not  as  big  an 
undertaking.  It  takes  about  ten  years  to  do  it. 
If  we  think  of  all  the  digging  necessary  as  a 
foundation  on  which  to  work,  of  every  shovel- 
ful of  paragraphs,  of  what  each  word  means, 
sifted  and  weighed  and  valued  and  recorded, 
with  malaria  and  weariness  all  round  about,  it 
reminds  one  of  digging  the  Panama  Canal.  A 
Panama  Canal  it  is,  this  New  Testament,  link- 
ing two  great  oceans,  the  ocean  of  God’s  bound- 
less love  with  the  immeasurable  expanse  of 
human  need. 

When  China  was  in  the  throes  of  Boxerdom, 
in  1900,  we  had  just  finished  the  New  Testa- 
ment, and  some  of  the  refugees  were  present 
when  the  Hon.  H.  N.  Allen,  M.  D.,  United 
States  minister,  made  a speech  and  presented 
specially  bound  copies  to  the  translators. 

Since  then  the  Old  Testament  is  under  way 
and  will  in  about  a year  more,  we  hope,  be 
completed.  Already  Genesis,  Exodus,  Samuel, 
Kings,  Psalms,  Isaiah  are  on  the  market,  and 
Koreans  are  reading  about  Joseph,  Jonathan, 


Bible 

Translation 


Completion  of 
New  Testament 


Old  Testament 
Translation 


Korea  in  Transition 


Use  of  Hymns 


Bible  Study 
Classes 


I76 

Elijah,  and  the  wicked  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judah. 

Wherever  the  gospel  goes,  hymns  spring  up, 
glad  hymns,  pathetic  hymns,  hymns  that  win 
the  wayward  and  the  wandering.  Among 
those  most  in  use  in  Korea  are  “Jesus  loves 
me”  (“Yesu  na-rul  sa-rang  Jiao”),  “Nothing 
but  the  blood”  (“P’i  pak-keni  up-nai”), 
“Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee”  (“ Ha-na-nim  kat- 
ka-Jii”),  “Jerusalem,  my  happy  home”  (“ Ye - 
ru-sal-lern  na  pok  toin  chip”).  These  are  find- 
ing their  way  into  huts  that  you  have  to  bow 
down  to  crawl  into,  into  high-class  homes,  into 
palaces,  and  the  children  are  growing  up  with 
their  vibrations  in  the  air.  The  place  that 
hymns  have  in  the  forward  march  of  the  gos- 
pel is  worth  noting,  a place  large  and  perma- 
nent. Thus  far  the  foreign  missionary  has 
had  much  to  do  with  the  composition  of 
Korean  hymns,  but  later  we  shall  have  our 
Watts  and  Wesley,  who  will  give  us  composi- 
tions that  will  stand  like  “Rock  of  Ages.” 

The  foreign  missionary  is,  as  we  have  seen, 
a starter  and  director  of  the  work  rather  than 
the  one  who  carries  it  out.  Where  his  influence 
is  seen  to  greatest  advantage  is  in  the  classes 
for  Bible  study.  These  meet  at  various  times 


Ivey  Hospital,  Songdo 


Pioneer  Methods  177 

during  the  year,  the  men  at  their  suitable  sea- 
son and  the  women  when  it  best  suits  them. 
For  the  two  weeks  or  so  that  they  are  together 
these  selected  Christians  are  taught  and  helped 
in  Bible  study.  They  are  full  of  questions  as 
to  the  meaning  of  this  and  that  in  Gospels  and 
Epistles,  and  the  application  of  it  to  every-day 
life.  While  engaged  in  this  work,  they  pray 
together,  and  enter  into  the  business  of  it  as 
men  do  into  a joint-stock  company  of  this 
world’s  affairs. 

When  the  measure  of  mission  work  is  taken 
for  the  wide  mission  fields  of  the  world,  many 
a medical  man  will  come  in  for  the  wreath  of 
laurel.  In  Korea  this  will  be  true.  The  first 
missionary  to  be  appointed  was  a medical  man, 
the  first  to  arrive  on  the  field  was  a medical 
man,  the  first  great  loss  was  a medical  man. 
The  medical  missionary’s  life  is  a ceaseless  war 
waged  against  typhus,  and  leprosy,  and  small- 
pox, and  cholera,  and  all  the  fearsome  heritage 
that  has  scourged  humanity.  His  calling  is 
to  go  into  the  most  noisome  dens  of  suffering, 
where  poverty,  crime,  ignorance,  and  super- 
stition sit  huddled  together,  to  go  in  with 
kindly  expression  and  heart  full  of  love  for  all 
mortals. 


The  Medical 
Missionary 


i ;8 


Korea  in  Transition 


An  Ambassador 
of  Cause  and 
Effect 


Groundless 

Oriental 

Inferences 


The  question  is  sometimes  asked  as  to  just 
what  place  the  medical  missionary  takes  in  the 
work  of  missions,  and  the  answer  is  usually 
that  he  helps  win  the  people.  This  is  true, 
though  it  is  also  true  that  any  one  can  win 
the  people  who  loves  them  and  is  unselfish.  But 
outside  of  this  the  medical  worker  has  a distinct 
sphere  of  his  own.  He  is  the  man  who  helps 
break  down  the  ignorance  and  unreasonable- 
ness of  non-christian  nations.  He  is  the  am- 
bassador of  the  law  of  cause  and  effect  that 
the  Orient  has  been  out  of  touch  with  for  all 
these  ages.  He  teaches  the  first  lessons  in 
hygiene ; he  shows  the  difference  between  rags 
and  royal  robes ; he  is  the  representative  of  the 
advanced  world  of  Christian  thought,  and  no 
mission  can  afford  to  be  without  him. 

Even  Chang  Chih-tung,  the  distinguished 
man  of  China,  only  a few  years  ago  attributed 
a cancerous  formation  on  his  face  to  a roadway 
that  had  been  cut  through  an  ancient  hill  near 
his  home,  and  he  straightway  had  it  filled  up. 
All  down  through  Korean  history  we  read  how 
this  and  that  phenomenon  of  nature  was  fol- 
lowed by  this  and  that  catastrophe  in  life.  I 
read  of  80  A.  D.  in  the  Sam  Guk  Sa  (Korean 
History)  : “In  the  fourth  moon  a great  wind 


Pioneer  Methods 


179 


blew  down  the  East  Gate  of  the  city,  and  in 
the  eighth  moon  the  king  died.”  “Sure,”  says 
the  old-time  Eastern  reader,  just  as  we  would 
when  we  read,  “John  Robinson  Smith  jumped 
from  an  express  train,  fell  on  his  neck,  and 
broke  it.” 

The  medical  missionary  turns  his  guns  on 
this  world  and  pounds  its  fortifications  might- 
ily. Yet  he  has  to  be  patient  withal,  for  per- 
haps while  he  is  prescribing  for  the  sick  man 
the  latest  scientific  output  of  a drug  company, 
Grandma  Kim,  behind  the  house  under  the 
rear  thatch,  is  brewing  a decoction  of  deers’ 
horns  and  ginseng  to  mix  in,  and  when  the 
man  recovers  “the  deers’  horns  did  it.” 

The  medical  man  fights  dirt  and  filth,  and  in 
every  direction  we  see  them  giving  away  and  a 
new  and  cleaner  order  coming  in.  We  may 
even  have  a shower  of  meteors  these  days  with- 
out associating  it  with  a plague  of  cholera  or 
some  other  dire  thing  to  follow. 

The  medical  man,  too,  falls  like  the  soldier 
in  the  hot  assault,  and  we  comrades  of  his  pass 
on  over  the  way  he  has  opened.  Western 
medicine  planted  strongly  in  Seoul,  in  Syep 
chun,  in  Song  chin,  in  Fusan,  in  Mokpo,  takes 
in  the  center  and  four  corners  of  the  land.  In- 


Medical 
Missionary  has 
Need  of 
Patience 


Fight*  for 
Cleanliness 


Falls  Like  a 
Soldier 


Graduates  In 
Medicine 


The  Hospital 


180  Korea  in  Transition 

terspersed  between,  are  eight  hospitals  or  more 
and  dispensaries. 

Last  summer,  at  the  Severance  Hospital, 
which  is  successor  to  the  institution  originally 
founded  by  Drs.  Allen  and  Heron  and  since 
carried  on  by  Avison  and  Hirst,  seven  stu- 
dents graduated  in  medicine  and  surgery. 
Prince  Ito  was  present  to  give  the  diplomas, 
and  the  government  granted  them  licenses  to 
practise  as  graduates  in  medicine.  What  an 
advance  since  the  days  of  the  plaster  of  excre- 
ment, or  the  long  needle  that  was  driven 
through  skin,  flesh,  muscles,  veins,  till  it  found 
a bone  to  impinge  upon  and  make  the  patient 
see  stars ! 

It  is  a joy  to  the  clerical  man  to  go  through 
the  hospital  and  see  these  suffering  sojourners 
of  the  yellow  Orient  cared  for  by  doctors, 
nurses,  and  assistants  who  are  wise  enough 
and  good  enough  to  wait  on  King  Edward  or 
President  Taft.  The  harelips  that  have  been 
sewed  up,  the  stiff  joints  that  have  been  set 
free,  the  tumors  that  have  been  removed,  the 
bones  that  have  been  put  right,  the  foul  dis- 
eases that  have  been  driven  away,  all  speak  for 
the  coming  of  the  gospel. 

Among  the  most  beneficent  of  all  Christian 


Woman  a Need 


Severance  Hospital,  Seoul 


Pioneer  Methods  181 

efforts  that  of  medical  work  for  women  surely 
stands  high.  The  woman’s  life,  heretofore 
weighted  by  all  manner  of  oppression,  and 
impressed  into  the  confines  of  the  inner  room, 
was  left  at  the  mercy  of  shade  and  “shadow”1 
diseases.  Only  on  the  arrival  of  the  woman 
physician,  side  by  side  with  the  evangelistic 
worker,  did  hope  spring  up.  As  a result  of 
the  work  of  the  Methodist  lady  physicians  and 
nurses,  Drs.  Cutler  and  Ernsburger  and  Misses 
Edmunds  and  Morrison,  do  we  find  not  only 
grateful  patients,  who  have  been  cured  and 
taught,  but  skilful  graduates,  who  recently 
gave  an  exhibition  of  the  duties  of  the  trained 
nurse  before  a gathering  of  the  consular  body, 
Japanese  officers,  and  army  surgeons. 

A large  hospital  has  just  been  built  inside 
of  the  East  Gate  of  Seoul,  that  will  care  for 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  needy  women. 
Women’s  medical  work  is  one  of  the  great 
factors  in  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

A theological  school  has  recently  been  started 
by  the  Presbyterians  in  Ping  yang,  and  another 
by  the  Methodists  in  Seoul.  This  marks  an- 

1 Shadow,  contrasted  with  light,  is  one  of  the  original  em- 
blems of  the  negative  in  nature,  earth  in  contrast  to  heaven, 
darkness  to  light,  woman  to  man. 


Hospital  for 
Women 


Theological 

Schools 


Korea  in  Transition 


Prison-lighted 

Lives 


l82 

other  stage  of  the  work.  In  these  schools  are 
the  choice  men  of  the  land,  gathered  for  study 
at  set  times  of  the  year.  The  course  is  adapted 
to  the  stage  of  the  work,  the  attainments  of 
the  men,  and  the  needs  of  the  time.  Under 
the  leadership  of  Dr.  Jones  of  Seoul,  and  Dr. 
Moffett  of  Ping  yang,  men  who  have  read  far 
into  the  soul  problems  of  Korea,  this  part  of 
the  work  becomes  a strong  hope  for  the  fu- 
ture. In  fact,  the  missionary’s  life  grows  into 
the  life  of  a teacher  of  the  few  rather  than  a 
herald  to  the  many.  While  this  short  notice 
only  is  given  of  our  theological  schools,  seeing 
that  they  have  just  begun,  on  the  wide  range 
of  the  horizon  that  marks  the  coming  history 
of  the  Church  they  occupy  perhaps  the  most 
important  section. 

Still,  there  are  other  theological  schools  that 
have  played  a great  and  important  part  in  the 
work  of  missions,  and  one  of  the  best  of  all 
was  the  old  Kamok  or  Criminal  Prison. 
Filthy,  cold,  infected  by  all  the  germs  that 
flourish  in  the  East,  crawling  with  vermin, 
associated  with  crime,  torture,  and  horrible 
death,  and  yet  a pok-dang  or  house  of  blessing, 
it  has  become.  The  old  emperor  in  his  days 
of  absolute  power  locked  in  this  pesthouse  Yi 


Pioneer  Methods  183 

Seung-man,  Yu  Song-jun,  Kim  In,  Yi  Sang- 
jai,  Yi  Won-gung,  Kim  Chung-sik.  He 
thought  that  these  men  meant  reform  along 
Western  lines,  and  they  did.  Without  trial 
by  judge  or  jury,  they  were  shut  behind 
the  bars ; some  of  them  wore  the  cangue 
collar  and  worked  in  the  chain-gang.  Here 
they  suffered  from  cold,  from  ill  treatment, 
from  the  constant  fear  of  execution,  though 
they  had  the  proud  blood  of  a long  ancestry 
in  their  veins,  and  a deadly  desire  for 
revenge  in  the  heart.  They  hoped  for 
escape,  for  the  opportune  moment,  the  keen 
knife,  for  accounts  squared  for  time  and 
eternity,  when  all  unexpectedly,  there  came 
into  their  company  the  New  Testament,  Bun- 
yan’s  Pilgrim’s  Progress,  and  some  of  Moody’s 
tracts  in  Chinese.  Their  prison,  visited  regu- 
larly by  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  A.  D.  Bunker, 
became  first  an  inquiry  room,  then  a house 
of  prayer,  then  a chapel  for  religious  exercises, 
then  a theological  hall,  and  when  the  course 
was  completed,  God  let  them  all  out  of  prison 
and  set  them  to  work.  With  their  high  social 
standing,  with  their  political  influence,  with 
their  superior  training  in  Chinese,  these  men 
nave  become  the  first  Christian  leaders  of  the 


184 


Korea  in  Transition 


Testings 


capital.  The  year  1909  found  Yi  Seung-man 
in  America,  taking  a postgraduate  course  at 
Harvard;  Yu  Song-jun  is  a consistent  Chris- 
tian in  the  service  of  the  government ; Yi  Sang- 
jai,  formerly  Secretary  of  the  Cabinet,  and 
once  Secretary  of  Legation  in  Washington, 
District  of  Columbia,  is  Director  of  Religious 
work  in  the  Seoul  Young  Men’s  Christian 
Association,  and  Kim  In  is  General  Secretary 
of  the  native  branch  of  that  organization, 
while  Yi  Won-gung,  one  of  the  most  noted 
Confucian  scholars  living,  is  an  elder  in  the 
Seoul  Presbyterian  Church;  and  Kim  Chung- 
sik,  once  chief  of  police  of  Seoul,  is  now  in 
charge  of  religious  work  among  Korean  stu- 
dents in  Tokio.  Not  established  under  either 
Methodist  or  Presbyterian  auspices,  this  old 
unwashed  Kamok  prison  has  been  one  of  our 
best  helps.  When  such  a means  as  this  can  be 
used  for  God’s  glory,  it  teaches  one  to  go 
slowly  and  prayerfully  and  wait  to  see  what 
he  will  do. 

The  testing  quantity  has  entered  so  deeply 
into  all  parts  of  the  work  here  that  it  deserves 
mention.  Christians  who  have  become  so  with- 
out a fiery  trial  are  of  no  use.  This  would 
account  for  the  lack  of  influence  seen  in  the 


Pioneer  Methods  185 

lives  of  those  who  have  gone  abroad,  become 
Christians,  and  returned.  As  a rule  they  are  a 
hindrance  rather  than  a help.  Why  is  this? 
It  is  explained  on  the  ground  that  they  have 
had  no  Kamok  Prison  in  their  Christian  ex- 
perience. It  has  been  all  easy  sailing.  They 
have  gone  to  America,  have  met  Christians, 
have  been  helped  by  Christians,  have  become 
Christians,  have  been  spoken  well  of  as  Chris- 
tians, have  lived  with  Christians,  all  as  easy 
for  the  Oriental  as  for  the  log  that  floats  down 
the  stream,  but  on  return  home,  when  the  test- 
ing-day comes,  and  they  meet  no  Christians  in 
their  circle,  are  spoken  ill  of,  are  received 
coldly  by  society,  have  to  live  in  their  old 
world  with  no  fighting  qualities  to  sustain 
them,  they  are  carried  back  into  heathenism 
like  Kipling’s  Hindu.  A Korean  Christian  is 
not  made  without  many  strokes  of  the  ham- 
mer, much  heating  of  the  furnace,  and  many 
testings  of  the  metal  during  the  long  hours  of 
the  day.  A place  like  the  Kamok  Prison  has 
proved  a much  better  Christian  school  than 
the  delights  and  hospitalities  of  an  American 
or  an  English  home. 

A house  of  prayer  for  all  Eastern  peoples  is 
what  God  apparently  means  to  make  of  this 


A Gateway  to 
China 


1 86  Korea  in  Transition 

little  peninsula.  By  small  degrees  already  we 
see  that  across  its  border  are  going  messages 
and  influences  that  are  to  help  great  China  to 
awake  from  her  opium  sleep  of  ages  to  see  and 
to  hear  God  calling,  and  when  China  awakes 
the  world  is  won. 

SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VI 

Aim  : To  Appreciate  the  Development  of  Missionary 
Work  in  Korea 

I.  The  Native  Church  and  the  Public. 

I.  What  are  the  advantages  and  what  the  disad- 
vantages of  having  it  dangerous  to  profess 
Christianity? 

2*  If  persecution  is  an  advantage  to  the  native 
Church,  what  substitute  for  it  would  you 
recommend  in  a time  of  peace? 

3.  If  you  were  a missionary,  would  you  do  any- 
thing to  dispel  the  notion  that  Christianity 
was  a religion  mainly  for  the  common  people? 

4.  How  would  you,  as  a missionary,  act  if  Chris- 
tianity became  for  a time  very  popular? 

5. *  What  should  be  the  attitude  of  the  mission- 

aries toward  Korean  patriotism? 

II.  Missionary  Methods. 

6.  In  view  of  the  hardships  mentioned  in  the 
chapter,  what  sort  of  training  would  you 
recommend  for  a prospective  Korean  mis- 
sionary? 

7.  Did  the  missionary  do  the  right  thing  to  stay 


Pioneer  Methods  187 

at  the  meeting  where  there  was  a man  with 
smallpox? 

8.  Why  is  it  so  important  for  the  missionary 
to  have  a thorough  command  of  the  ver- 
nacular? 

9. *  If  you  were  a missionary  beginning  work, 

what  methods  would  you  follow  in  order  to 
win  the  confidence  of  the  people? 

10. *  Why  is  argument  of  so  little  use  in  missionary 

work? 

11.  Why  is  it  better  not  to  begin  by  attacking 
superstition  ? 

12.  What  are  the  relative  advantages  of  chapel 
preaching  and  personal  interviews? 

13.  Why  has  reading  been  so  effective  with 
Koreans  ? 

14.  If  God  wishes  us  to  evangelize  the  world,  why 
do  you  think  he  has  put  so  many  obstacles  in 
our  way? 

15.  Try  to  imagine  what  Christianity  would  be 
like  in  this  country  if  we  were  altogether  with- 
out a Christian  press  or  literature. 

16. *  Give  the  respective  arguments  for  investing 

$50,000,  in  a hospital,  or  a college,  or  a press, 
ift  Korea. 

17.  Which  parts  of  the  New  Testament  do  you 
think  it  would  be  most  difficult  to  translate 
into  Korean,  and  why? 

18. *  If  you  were  appointed  to  translate  the  Bible 

into  Korean,  what  various  kinds  of  preparation 
would  you  consider  necessary? 

19. *  Arrange  the  things  accomplished  by  the 

medical  missionary  in  what  seems  to  you  the 
order  of  their  importance. 


1 88 


Korea  in  Transition 


20.  In  just  what  way  can  he  best  dispel  super- 
stition in  treating1  a case? 

21.  Why  are  theological  schools  so  important  on 
the  foreign  field? 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  VI 

I.  Methods  of  Work. 

Gale:  The  Vanguard  (passim). 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  ch.  XI. 

Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
pp.  130-132,  234,  235. 

Underwood : The  Call  of  Korea,  ch.  IV. 

II.  Medical  Work. 

Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
PP-  I33-I4S,  305,  306. 

Gifford:  Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  pp.  142-144. 

Gale : Korean  Sketches,  ch.  V. 


THE  RESPONSE  OF  KOREA 


The  class-leader  here,  who  is  a well-to-do  farmer,  so  ar- 
ranged his  farm  work  this  year  as  to  devote  practically  his 
whole  time,  without  pay,  to  church  work.  The  result  has 
been  an  increase  of  about  fifty  per  cent.  There  are  two 
churches,  with  Christians  in  eight  other  villages.  The  mem- 
bership, including  probationers,  is  135,  who  with  112  other 
attendants  make  a total  of  247.  ...  At  another  point  we  have 
four  churches,  with  three  prayer  rooms,  and  Christians  in 
some  thirty  villages.  Persecution  at  one  church  brought 
with  it  the  stoning  of  two  helpers,  and,  through  their  fidelity, 
victory,  and  an  increase  of  over  one  hundred  per  cent.  Here 
we  have  306  members,  including  probationers,  and  120  other 
attendants,  making  426  in  all.  . . . During  the  wonderful 
revival  that  shook  part  of  Korea  the  past  year,  until  not  one 
tile  remained  on  top  of  another  of  the  three  thousand  year-old 
devil-house,  the  thing  that  caused  more  remarks  among  the 
missionaries  than  anything  else  was  the  wonderful  way  in 
which  the  Koreans  prayed  for  each  other  and  the  remarkable 
answers  to  these  prayers.  Not  only  in  prayers,  but  in  works 
as  well,  are  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Korean  Christians  instant 
in  season  and  out.  I dare  say  there  is  no  land  in  the  world 
where  there  is  so  much  personal  and  unpaid — in  money — 
hand  to  hand,  and  heart  to  heart,  evangelistic  work  done  as 
in  Korea.  During  the  revival,  when  strong  men  were  in 
utter  despair,  crying  out  in  agony  under  conviction  of  sin, 
most  beautiful  was  the  way  others,  who  had  gone  through 
the  struggle  and  come  out  victorious,  would  go  to  their 
brother,  put  their  arm  about  him  and  lead  him  into  the 
light.  The  wonder  of  this  is  the  greater  when  we  remember 
that  the  Korean  gives  little  expression  to  personal  affection. 
. . . Early  one  morning  as  I was  going  out  from  Chinnampo 
I met  one  of  the  Christians  coming  in.  They  were  having 
a week  of  prayer,  and  as  he  had  pledged  himself  not  to  go 
empty-handed  he  had  been  out  to  a nearby  village  getting 
his  man  for  the  night.  At  the  time  of  the  women’s  class  in 
Ping  yang  women  who  had  received  new  experiences  of  sins 
pardoned  and  fulness  of  peace  and  joy  in  the  new  birth, 
came  to  me  with  tears  pleading  that  I might  go  or  send  some- 
one to  their  church  that  all  might  have  this  new  experience 
and  live.  In  some  cases  these  women  themselves  were  the 
means  of  bringing  the  revival  to  their  local  church. 

—J.  Z.  Moore 


VII 

THE  RESPONSE  OF  KOREA 

Many  years  of  testing  by  the  question, 
“Where  did  you  first  hear  the  gospel  ? at 
church?  on  the  street?  at  prayer-meeting?  by 
reading  the  Bible?”  brings  the  characteristic 
response:  “No,  I heard  it  first  from  Brother 
Kim,  or  Brother  Pak,  or  Brother  Choi;  he 
came  to  my  house  and  we  read  together.” 
From  lip  to  lip  and  heart  to  heart  it  has  gone 
to  the  distant  valleys  on  the  Manchu  border, 
to  the  windings  of  the  Tumen,  to  the  whirling 
tides,  and  rocks,  and  cross  streams  of  the 
southern  archipelago,  from  east  to  west  all 
over  the  land.  God  will  bless  Korea,  for  if  ever 
a land  exemplified  the  Christian  principle  of 
passing  it  on,  it  is  this  same  country. 

“The  Korean  Christians  are  unceasingly 
active.  A tract  is  accepted,  a book  is  bought, 
a meeting  is  attended,  an  impression  made,  a 
desire  to  know  more  aroused;  then  follow 
regular  attendance,  conversion,  and  entrance 
into  the  Church.  But  they  do  not  stop  here. 
Acquaintances,  friends,  and  relatives  are 

i9i 


Pass  It  Od 


Native 
Christians 
Ever  Active 


192 


Korea  in  Transition 


A High 
Standard 


sought,  importuned,  and  reasoned  with  on 
righteousness,  temperance,  and  judgment  to 
come.  Some  of  the  leaders  are  making  noble 
sacrifices  for  the  spread  of  the  Word.  In  the 
cold  of  winter  and  in  the  heat  of  summer;  in 
the  crowded  city  and  at  the  country  market; 
in  the  library  of  the  Confucian  scholar  and  in 
the  comfortless  wayside  inn;  in  the  lonely 
country  farmhouse  and  in  the  privacy  of  the 
inner  room,  where  the  women  are  secure  from 
molestation,  they  bear  glad  and  cheerful  testi- 
mony to  the  power  of  Christ  to  save  from  sin. 
They  receive  abuse,  accept  ostracism,  endure 
cruel  mockings  and  even  bonds  and  imprison- 
ments, in  order  to  obtain  a good  report  through 
faith. 

“From  the  early  days  of  the  mission  there 
has  prevailed  among  the  Korean  converts  a 
very  high  conception  of  the  privileges  and 
responsibilities  of  Church-membership.  A 
Korean  Christian  is  always  more  than  a mere 
Church-member;  he  is  a worker  giving  his 
services  freely  and  gladly  to  extend  the  knowl- 
edge of  Christ  among  his  neighbors.  It  has 
not  been  an  unusual  thing  for  a pastor  of  a 
local  church  to  have  not  less  than  one  third  of 
the  entire  membership  of  his  church  on  the 


Divinity  Students  College  Students 


The  Response  of  Korea 


193 


streets  on  a Sunday  afternoon  engaged  in 
house  to  house  visitation  and  personal  work 
among  their  unconverted  neighbors.” 

Thus  has  the  work  gone  on  and  on.  The 
native  Christian  has  proved  himself  a master 
hand  at  passing  on  the  divine  message.  No 
fiery  cross  of  ancient  Scotland  ever  circled  the 
hills  with  more  persistent  rapidity  than  the 
Good  News  has  gone  throughout  Korea. 
Each  has  heard  from  a brother,  from  a sister, 
and  like  propagates  like;  oats,  oats;  barley, 
barley;  never  wheat,  pumpkins;  nor  goose- 
berries, pomeloes.  One  of  the  matters  to  fear 
and  pray  over  on  the  mission  field  is  that  a 
defective  Christian  will  lead  others  to  the  faith 
who  will  be  similarly  defective.  Still,  although 
Korea  has  her  share  of  imperfect  saints,  there 
are  among  them  a wonderful  group  of  single- 
hearted,  simple-minded,  earnest,  faithful  Chris- 
tians. 

“The  Korean  not  only  memorizes  Scripture ; 
he  puts  it  into  practise.  One  day  there  came 
into  one  of  the  mission  stations  a sturdy  Chris- 
tian from  the  north.  After  the  usual  greet- 
ings, he  was  asked  the  purpose  of  his  visit. 
His  reply  was : ‘I  have  been  memorizing  some 
verses  in  the  Bible,  and  have  come  to  recite 


The  Work 
Extends 


Doers  of  the 
Word 


194 


Korea  in  Transition 


them  to  you.’  He  lived  a hundred  miles  away, 
and  had  walked  all  that  distance,  traveling  four 
nights — a long  stroll  to  recite  some  verses  of 
Scripture  to  his  pastor,  but  he  was  listened  to 
as  he  recited  in  Korean,  without  a verbal  error, 
the  entire  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  He  was  told 
that  if  he  simply  memorized  it,  it  would  be  a 
feat  of  memory  and  nothing  more;  he  must 
practise  its  teachings.  His  face  lighted  up 
with  a smile  as  he  promptly  replied:  ‘That  is 
the  way  I learned  it.  I tried  to  memorize  it, 
but  it  wouldn’t  stick,  so  I hit  on  this  plan.  I 
would  memorize  a verse,  and  then  find  a 
heathen  neighbor  of  mine  and  practise  the 
verse  on  him.  Then  I found  it  would  stick.’ 
Imagine  this  humble  Korean  Christian  in  a 
heathen  city,  amid  the  hills  of  the  peninsula, 
taking  that  matchless  moral  code  and,  precept 
by  precept,  putting  it  into  practise  in  his  life 
with  his  neighbors.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  the 
Korean  Church  grows?” 

ideal  for  the  The  jdeai  for  the  native  Church  toward 

Native  Church 

which  all  missionary  agencies  are  striving  has 
been  that  of  a body  which  shall  be  self-propa- 
gating and  self-governing  and  self-supporting. 
A striking  testimony  as  to  the  way  in  which  the 
Korean  Church  is  realizing  this  ideal  comes 


Methodist  Church,  Wonsan 


The  Response  of  Korea  195 

from  the  report  of  Dr.  Sharrocks,  of  Syen 
chun,  written  in  1906: 

“Last  year  in  our  station  of  Syen  chun  we  seif-propagatjon 
had  6,507  adherents;  this  year  there  are 
11,943.  From  whence  the  5,436  conversions 
during  the  twelve  months? — an  average  of 
453  per  month.  Could  this  be  the  result  of 
our  small  band  of  missionaries?  Could  it  be 
from  the  $72  spent  on  local  evangelists  during 
the  year?  The  Koreans  have  15  native  evan- 
gelists giving  their  whole  time  to  the  work  and 
receiving  their  support  from  the  native  Church. 

The  Christians  themselves  have  pledged  a 
certain  number  of  days  of  voluntary  preach- 
ing or  special  definite  evangelistic  effort,  the 
sum  of  which  has  exceeded  8,000  days.  There 
have  been  1,164  baptisms  during  the  year, 
almost  one  hundred  per  month, — an  average 
of  22  every  Sunday.  Nor  is  that  all,  these  one 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-four  people 
were  Christians  for  over  a year  before  they 
were  baptized.  At  the  end  of  a few  months 
from  conversion  they  were  examined  and  at 
the  expiration  of  twelve  months  more  they 
were  again  examined.  If  the  examination  was 
good,  and  if  the  past  year’s  history  was  what 
a Christian’s  ought  to  be,  they  were  baptized. 


Korea  in  Transition 


.Self-government 


ielf-support 


I96 

The  5,436  converts  of  this  year  will  be  up  for 
examination  and  baptism  next  year.  In  the 
face  of  these  facts  I think  we  can  call  the 
Korean  Church  self-propagating. 

“In  our  station  we  have  78  churches  and, 
as  I said,  11,943  Christians.  These  churches 
are  scattered  over  an  immense  territory,  with 
picked  men  (unsalaried)  over  the  individual 
churches.  The  churches  are  made  up  into 
circuits  or  groups  of  churches,  13  in  all,  with 
13  assistant  pastors  or  helpers  over  them. 
These  13  helpers  are  beholden  to  four  clerical 
missionaries,  two  of  whom  are  on  furlough 
this  year,  and  one  of  the  others  is  yet  studying 
the  language.  Could  one  man  adequately  care 
for  78  churches  with  nearly  12,000  Christians? 
The  Church  in  Korea  comes  pretty  close  to 
being  self-governing. 

“One  of  the  national  characteristics  of  the 
Korean  is  poverty.  The  daily  wage  is  from 
fifteen  to  forty  cents,  which  would  not  be  so 
bad  were  the  living  expense  not  at  about  the 
same  figure.  To  ‘save  up’  is  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary Korean,  yet  look  at  the  finances  of  the 
Church ! In  our  station  we  have  56  day- 
schools  with  1. 1 92  pupils,  receiving  not  one 
dollar  of  foreign  money.  There  are  70  church 


The  Response  of  Korea 


197 


buildings  in  our  province  into  only  two  of 
which  any  foreign  money  has  gone.  There  is 
not  a native  preacher  or  evangelist  or  teacher 
in  our  province  on  foreign  salary,  though  three 
still  receive  a small  portion  of  their  salaries 
from  foreign  funds.  The  entire  running  ex- 
penses of  our  station  including  everything  but 
$350  for  the  hospital  and  the  missionaries’ 
salaries,  as  compared  with  the  gifts  of  the  na- 
tive Church,  are  as  one  to  ten  and  sixty-two 
hundredths — in  other  words,  for  every  Ameri- 
can dollar  invested  in  them,  our  Koreans  have 
put  up  ten  dollars  and  sixty-two  cents.  We 
feel  that  our  Church  can  well  be  called  self- 
supporting. 

“From  the  first  the  Koreans  were  made  to 
believe  that  the  spread  of  the  gospel  and 
growth  of  the  Church  was  their  work  rather 
than  ours.  We  are  here  to  start  them  and 
guide  them  in  their  efforts,  but  it  is  theirs  to 
do  the  work.  Whether  a man  believes  or  not, 
is  his  gain  or  loss  and  not  ours.  He  is  taught 
that  his  coming  into  the  Church  confers  no 
favor  upon  the  missionary  nor  enriches  the 
kingdom,  but  is  a decided  benefit  to  himself. 
When  a man  is  converted,  we  rejoice  not  for 
our  sakes,  but  for  his.  In  employing  workmen 


Appeal  to  Right 
Motives 


198 


Korea  in  Transition 


A True 

“Yoke-fellow” 


it  is  the  work  that  tells,  and  if  a heathen  is 
found  to  give  better  service  than  a Christian 
the  latter  is  dismissed  and  the  former  retained. 
So  careful  have  we  been  along  these  lines  that 
no  one  thinks  of  coming  into  the  Church  for 
mercenary  motives.” 

Another  testimony  comes  from  Dr.  George 
Heber  Jones:  “From  the  earliest  years  of  the 
mission,  the  Koreans  have  been  taught  that 
the  final  and  complete  evangelization  of  their 
people  rests  with  them,  and  that  the  purpose 
of  the  foreign  missionary  is  to  inaugurate  the 
work  and  then  cooperate  with  Korean  Chris- 
tians in  extending  it.  This  position  has  been 
accepted  by  the  Korean  Christians  and  the 
Korean  type  is  that  of  a man  who  places  all 
his  posessions  in  the  hands  of  the  Lord  for 
his  work.  A happy  illustration  of  this  occurred 
in  our  work  in  the  north  district.  Dr.  W. 
Arthur  Noble  led  to  Christ  a sturdy  specimen 
of  the  northern  Korean.  He  was  the  first  con- 
vert in  his  village,  and  his  house  was  the  first 
meeting-place.  After  awhile  the  village  church 
grew  too  large  for  its  quarters  and  put  up  a 
chapel  of  its  own.  Then  there  was  a debt 
which  had  to  be  paid.  There  was  no  money 
with  which  to  pay  it,  as  the  little  group  had 


The  Response  of  Korea 


199 


exhausted  their  resources.  This  leader,  how- 
ever, had  one  thing  he  could  sell — his  ox  with 
which  he  did  his  plowing.  One  day  he  led  it 
off  to  the  market-place,  sold  it,  and  paid  the 
debt  on  the  church.  The  next  spring  when  the 
missionary  visited  this  village  he  inquired  for 
the  leader  and  was  told  he  was  out  in  the  field 
plowing.  He  walked  down  the  road  to  the 
field,  and  this  is  what  he  saw:  holding  the 
handles  of  the  plow  was  the  old,  gray-haired 
father  of  the  family,  and  hitched  in  the  traces 
where  the  ox  should  have  been  were  this  Ko- 
rean Christian  and  his  brother,  dragging  his 
plow  through  the  fields  that  year  themselves! 
Doubtless  also  there  was  another  whom  mortal 
eye  could  not  see,  with  form  like  unto  the  Son 
of  God,  hitched  in  the  yoke  with  these  humble 
Korean  Christians,  making  their  burdens  light 
and  the  yoke  easy  that  year.” 

The  Korean  is  a preacher  of  the  gospel  by 
a kind  of  spiritual  instinct ; he  knows  and  does 
this  one  thing  only;  he  provides  for  his  Church 
schools  without  a cent  from  the  homelands; 
he  writes  now  and  publishes  his  own  books; 
he  gives  up  tobacco  and  other  useless  expend- 
iture to  save  for  the  gospel’s  sake;  he  gives 
of  his  means  a tenth  or  more;  sometimes  he 


Self-denyit)g 

Giving 


200 


Korea  in  Transition 


Donation  of 
Time 


gives  all  he  has  over  a bare  living.  Last  year, 
to  give  an  example,  the  membership  of  Yun- 
mot-kol  Church,  Seoul,  with  income  not  one 
tenth  of  the  ordinary  city  church  at  home, 
gave  over  ten  dollars  gold  a member,  or  $3,850 
for  350  members. 

And  what  an  example  the  Koreans  have  set 
the  Christian  Church  all  over  the  world  in  their 
donations  of  time  for  the  Lord’s  work ! Their 
evangelistic  effort  has  been  systematic  as  well 
as  eager.  Opportunity  is  given  at  meetings 
for  Christians  to  pledge  a specified  number  of 
days  during  the  coming  year  for  work  among 
their  unconverted  neighbors.  This  is  in  addi- 
tion to  what  is  done  on  the  Sabbath.  Individ- 
uals have  sometimes  pledged  several  weeks 
during  a single  year.  Then  campaigns  are 
mapped  out,  and  in  some  cases  whole  regions 
have  been  systematically  evangelized.  These 
time  donations  are  also  much  in  evidence  when 
church  buildings  are  to  be  erected.  Not  only 
those  in  whose  homes  money  is  an  infrequent 
and  hasty  visitor  are  glad  to  contribute  their 
strength,  but  those  more  well-to-do,  brought 
up  to  consider  manual  labor  a thing  that  no 
gentleman  would  engage  in,  have  put  their 
hands  to  the  saw  and  the  shovel.  It  is  not 


The  Response  of  Korea 


201 


remarkable  that  such  a Church  should  expe- 
rience a wonderful  revival. 

It  was  in  1906  that  the  native  Christians 
joined  heart  with  the  foreign  missionaries  in 
an  earnest  prayer  that  God  in  heaven  would 
look  down  in  mercy  and  give  what  the  heart 
longed  for,  what  the  hungry  soul  needed,  what 
the  spirit  craved  for  in  its  thirsty  land.  What 
did  they  want  that  they  were  in  such  unrest 
over?  They  had  health,  and  peace,  and  com- 
fortable homes.  They  had  friends,  they  had 
every  evidence  of  blessing.  A great  Church 
had  been  gathered,  what  was  the  matter  with 
them  that  they  were  in  such  an  agony  of 
distress? 

It  was  in  August  that  Dr.  Hardie  of  Won- 
san came  to  Ping  yang,  and  in  telling  of  the 
work  of  grace  that  God  had  wrought  in  his 
own  soul,  he  aroused  more  intense  and  deeper 
longing  than  ever.  Mr.  Lee  writes : “He  came 
and  helped  us  greatly.  . . . There  was 

born  of  these  meetings  the  desire  that  God’s 
Spirit  would  take  complete  control  of  our  lives, 
and  use  us  mightily  in  his  service.” 

The  old  walls  that  had  heard  all  the  devil 
noises,  and  seen  the  blasted  hopes  of  eastern 
Asia  for  fifty  centuries,  heard  now  prayers 


Longings  for 
Revival 


Deepening  of 
the  Movement 


Accumulating 

Power 


202 


Korea  in  Transition 


daily  that  knew  no  cessation.  But  it  was  like 
praying  into  space,  for  there  was  no  wonderful 
manifestation,  nor  any  special  answer.  Things 
were  as  they  had  always  been.  The  same  sun 
shone,  the  same  gray  earth  and  brown  hills 
mocked  them,  the  same  birds  made  light  of  it. 
Why  should  they  pray?  Give  it  up  and  be 
happy.  Thank  God  for  his  good  gifts  and 
blessings.  Thank  him  for  forgiveness.  Thank 
him  for  a promised  home  in  heaven.  Be 
reasonable!  It  may  in  the  end  reach  fanaticism 
if  we  be  not  careful.  But  you  may  not  reason 
with  the  swell  of  the  ocean  or  the  tidal  wave. 
Some  hidden  power  unseen  lifts  the  mighty 
weight  of  water,  and  to  try  to  stem  it  with 
our  feeble  words  would  be  as  wise  as  such 
reasonings  with  these  praying  souls.  The 
months  of  autumn  dragged  by,  the  last  of 
1906.  Into  1907  the  year  was  launched,  and 
still  daily  groups  gathered  for  prayer.  From 
all  points  of  the  north  land,  too,  came  Chris- 
tians to  the  study  class,  seven  hundred  of  them ! 
What  had  they  come  for?  To  study  the  Bible, 
of  course;  to  get  hold  of  who  Matthew  was, 
and  John,  and  the  rest  of  them;  to  find  what 
were  the  leading  thoughts  of  Paul’s  Epistles, 
and  perhaps  the  Book  of  Revelation.  They 


The  Response  of  Korea  203 

had  walked,  some  of  them,  a hundred  miles, 
some  more,  some  less,  carrying  their  rice  on 
the  back  which  was  to  serve  as  board  while 
attending.  It  was  quite  the  thing  this  going 
to  Ping  yang  to  study.  They  would  sing 
hymns,  and  hear  sermons,  and  rejoice  and  be 
glad,  and  go  home  and  tell  others  about  it. 
Now  they  are  gathered,  and  when  the  evening 
meetings  commence  the  great  church  is  filled; 
fifteen  hundred  people.  Little  did  these 
country  folk  dream  of  what  was  before  them. 
Had  they  seen  all,  doubtless  many  would  have 
turned  back,  flying  for  their  lives  in  fear  and 
consternation. 

For  several  days  the  ordinary  meetings  were 
held,  till  at  last  came  Sunday  night  to  which 
all  had  looked  forward  with  great  hope  and 
expectation.  Dr.  Baird  took  the  service. 
Under  his  leadership  they  expected  to  win 
what  they  hoped  for,  but  instead  it  was  a dry 
tasteless  meeting.  All  the  powers  of  Satan 
seemed  to  be  against  them.  “Dead?”  said 
Keel,  “Oh  you  never  experienced  anything 
like  it,  the  whole  place  was  just  whing  with 
nothingness.  Some  tried  to  confess,  some  tried 
to  pray.  It  would  not  do,  and  the  meeting  dis- 
persed and  went  home.”  Intensified  in  their 


204 


Korea  in  Transition 


Coming  of  the 
Spirit 


longings  by  this  defeat,  the  missionaries  and 
the  native  leaders  gathered  with  redoubled 
earnestness  in  prayer.  Something  was  needed, 
something  within  the  possibility  of  attain- 
ment, something  that  must  be  won  at  all 
costs,  this  answer  that  would  respond  to 
the  accumulated  longings  of  the  past  months 
must  come.  There  was  nothing  else  in  life, 
no  other  objective  point,  just  this  and  this 
only.  It  was  God’s  to  give,  and  the  time 
had  come.  They  would  keep  on.  To  stop 
was  impossible.  Let  everything  be  for- 
gotten but  just  to  pray.  Let  heart  and  soul 
and  mind  enter,  for  the  stake  is  none  less  than 
God  himself,  and  the  conditions  involved  are 
all  the  eternities. 

That  night  they  met  again,  Jan.  14,  1907. 
It  was  a great  meeting  and  a wonderful  Pres- 
ence seemed  imminent.  “We  all  felt  that 
something  was  coming,”  said  Mr.  Lee.  Under 
a canopy  of  united  audible  prayer  the  whole 
meeting  became  electrified ; “the  Spirit  of  God 
seemed  to  descend.”  Man  after  man  arose, 
confessed  his  sins,  broke  down,  and  wept. 
Until  2.00  a.  m.  the  meeting  continued  with 
confession,  weeping,  and  praying. 

Into  this  marvelous  experience  moved  the 


All  Enlisted 


The  Response  of  Korea 


205 


whole  community,  native  as  well  as  foreign. 
Hereafter  at  the  noon  prayer  gatherings  new 
hope  had  come,  but  also  fear,  awe,  and  wonder 
at  the  mighty  mystery  overshadowing  them. 

It  was  the  next  night,  and  Keel  was  on  hand 
to  speak.  “From  the  first  it  was  not  Keel’s 
face”,  said  Elder  Cheung  In-no  to  me.  Keel 
was  once  stone-blind,  is  partially  blind  still, 
but  here  was  a face  of  great  majesty  and 
power ; a face  on  fire  with  purity  and  holiness. 
It  was  Jesus,  it  was  not  Keel.  He  spoke  of 
John  the  Baptist,  and  how  he  called  on  men 
to  repent  and  confess.  There  were  no  fashion- 
able church  joys  in  this  gathering,  but  strange 
intimations  of  death  and  terror.  The  flash- 
ings of  Sinai  were  over  and  about  them. 
“There  was  no  escape,”  said  Cheung,  “God 
was  calling.  An  awful  fear  of  sin  not  ex- 
perienced before  settled  over  us.  How  to 
shake  it  off  and  escape  was  the  question. 
Some  did  run  away  but  only  to  come  back  in 
more  intense  distress  than  ever,  with  death  in 
the  soul  and  written  deep-lined  on  the  face. 
‘O  God,  what  shall  I do?  If  I make  my  bed 
in  hell,  thou  art  there;  if  I take  the  wings  of 
the  morning  and  flee,  even  there  dost  thou 
follow  me.’  ” Thus  these  hundreds  gathered 


Message 
Through  Keel  is 
“Confess” 


206  Korea  in  Transition 

under  the  fearful  pall  of  conviction.  The  day 
of  judgment  had  come,  and  squirm  and  dodge 
as  they  would,  there  was  no  escape,  none 
whatever.  It  was  death;  die  they  must.  At 
the  sound  of  the  preacher’s  voice  and  in  face 
of  the  conscious  presence  of  a great  and  awful 
God,  what  were  they  to  do?  And  yet  they 
could  not  confess ; to  unveil  the  secrets  of  the 
past  would  be  shame  unspeakable,  and  social, 
material,  eternal  ruin.  They  would  say,  “I 
am  undone.  I am  a lost  man,”  and  let  it  rest. 
Some  did  try  this  but  found  no  relief,  more 
fearful  than  ever  were  the  pent-up  agonies  of 
the  soul.  Name  it  they  must  and  so  rid  the 
breast  forever.  Keel,  in  this  moment  of  inspi- 
ration, was  to  the  crowd  as  John  the  Baptist. 
“Confessing  their  sins.”  Confess  was  the 
word  that  he  was  compelled  to  say,  and  con- 
fess was  the  act  they  were  compelled  to  do. 
It  was  a life  and  death  struggle,  every  man 
with  the  angel  on  the  banks  of  the  Jabbok. 
All  the  reasonings  of  the  heart  came  in  to 
restrain  them.  “It  will  denle  the  ears  of  the 
hearers  if  I confess.”  “It  will  disgrace  my 
family.”  “It  will  socially  ruin  me.”  “It  will 
hurt  the  Church.”  “I’ll  die,  but  I can’t 
confess.” 


The  Response  of  Korea  207 

Pastor  K.  C.  Pang  was  present,  and  two 
years  later,  when  telling  the  writer,  said:  “It 
was  a great  sign  and  wonder,  just  as  though 
Jesus  were  present  right  there,  and  there  was 
no  escape.  I saw  some  struggling  to  get  up, 
then  falling  back  in  agony.  Others  again 
bounded  to  their  feet  to  rid  their  soul  of  some 
long-covered  sin.  It  seemed  unwise  that  such 
confessions  be  made,  but  there  was  no  help 
for  it.  We  were  under  a mysterious  and  awful 
power,  helpless — missionaries  as  well  as 
natives.” 

A wave  of  prayer  would  then  take  the  as- 
sembled multitude,  and  all  would  join  at  once, 
mingling  their  petitions  with  cries  of  agony. 
Then  in  a cessation  this  one  and  that  one  would 
arise,  and  calling  for  mercy  tell  of  the  burden 
of  the  soul.  One,  a woman,  had  in  the  Japan- 
China  war,  escaping  for  her  life  with  her 
child  on  her  back,  found  it  impossible  to  carry 
so  heavy  a burden.  She  then  dashed  the  child 
against  a tree,  killed  it,  and  ran.  She  had 
repented,  had  given  her  heart  to  God,  but  here 
was  this  awful  deed  returned  upon  her,  and 
out  it  must  come. 

Another  had  found  a Japanese  pocket-book 
which  contained  six  hundred  yen  ($300 


No  Escape 


A Mother’s 
Deed 


Restitution  of 
Money 


208 


Korea  in  Transition 


Surrender  for 
Punishment 


gold).  He  did  not  know  to  whom  it  belonged, 
and  no  one  came  to  claim  it,  so  he  had  used 
the  money.  But  now  it  was  upon  him  like  all 
the  fiends  of  Buddha.  Out  it  came,  and 
restoration  had  to  be  made,  while  those  con- 
gregated, with  eyes  starting  out  of  their  heads, 
listened. 

Another,  years  before,  had  been,  like  Barab- 
bas,  a robber.  All  the  dark  deeds  of  that  time 
were  on  him,  and  now,  like  the  rending  of  his 
soul,  out  they  came.  Immediately  he  gave 
himself  up  to  the  police  and  was  locked  up  in 
jail. 

One  of  my  best  friends,  an  elder  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  was  there.  He  said  that  the 
solemnity  of  the  meetings  was  beyond  words 
to  describe,  something  terrible,  and  yet  one 
was  impressed  by  the  fact  that  it  was  right 
and  true  and  holy.  Years  before  he  said  he 
had  paid  off  a debt  and  received  a clear  receipt, 
but  in  the  paying  he  had  not  met  all  the 
requirements.  He  had  taken  advantage  of 
one  of  the  interested  parties  being  dead  to 
have  it  settled  easier  for  himself.  Said  he-. 
“This  came  back  on  me  like  a whirlwind,  and 
the  awfulness  of  the  deed  was  like  a lost 
eternity.  I could  not  escape,  so  in  tears  and 


Bible  Training  Institute,  Ping  yang 


Presbyterian  Church,  Ping  yang 


The  Response  of  Korea 


209 


contrition  I had  to  rise  and  tell  it  to  my 
shame  and  resolve  to  make  restitution.  Then 
a peace,  a strange,  sweet,  indescribable  peace, 
such  a feeling  as  the  heart  had  never  known 
before,  seemed  to  possess  me.” 

Another  friend  whom  I had  long  known, 
who  had  fallen  into  sin,  fallen  after  being  a 
Christian,  had  covered  it  up  and  hidden  it 
away,  was  there.  He  had  resolved  never 
to  fall  again,  and  no  man  would  know.  He 
loathed  himself  for  having  lone  so  badly, 
and  had  told  others  that  he  was  a miser- 
able sinner.  He  attended  the  meetings  and 
sat  through  several,  his  face  strained  and 
deathly,  his  heart  within  him  appalled  at 
the  prospect.  At  last  it  was  confess  or 
die,  and  with  one  superhuman  effort  he  was 
upon  the  platform  before  those  hundreds 
of  people.  He  told  all.  “Was  there  ever 
such  a sinner  as  I?  My  God!  My  God! 
Have  mercy  on  my  soul !”  For  a time  it 
seemed  as  though  he  would  die.  He  beat  the 
hard  wooden  flooring  till  his  hands  bled,  he 
shrieked  and  begged  for  mercy.  “Is  this  what 
sin  is?”  said  the  awe-stricken  multitudes. 
“We  never  knew  it  was  so  awful.  We  had 
thought  it  a trifle,  but,  behold,  here  is  what 


Making  Bare  the 
Deepest  Sin 


210 


Korea  in  Transition 


Missionary 

Rededication 


Unspeakable 

Joy 


A New 
Ping  yang 


God  thinks.”  This  friend  came  out  of  the 
fiery  trial  cleansed  and  purified.  So  was  the 
whole  church  lifted  up  into  the  third  heaven 
to  hear  words  that  no  man  might  utter. 

Missionaries  were  alike  caught  in  the  power 
of  it,  and  what  a solemn  rededication  of  life’s 
service  to  the  Highest  took  place  no  outsider 
will  ever  know. 

One  of  the  striking  services  was  illustrated 
by  Keel’s  being  tied  by  a rope  and  held.  He 
represented  thus  the  bondage  and  power  of 
sin.  How  he  struggled  to  get  away,  but  the 
rope  held  him!  At  last,  at  last,  in  his  agony 
it  gave  way,  and  he  rushed  forth  free. 
“Hallelujah,  I am  free!”  This  was  the  note 
of  it,  and  so  after  each  confession  there 
followed  joy,  great  joy,  joy  unspeakable,  joy 
that  the  possessor  could  not  tell  about,  joy 
that  no  man  ever  dreamed  of. 

This  city  of  Ping  yang  used  to  be  considered 
the  most  hopeless  part  of  Korea.  It  had  been 
a veritable  cage  of  evil  birds  from  all  time. 
Among  spirit-worshiping,  idolatrous  Koreans 
Ping  yang  was  the  vilest  of  the  vile;  and  yet 
now  everywhere  praying  was  heard,  weeping, 
singing.  The  world  had  gone  mad  over  a 
religion  that  the  fathers  had  never  heard  of. 


The  Response  of  Korea 


211 


High  up  on  the  heights  of  the  city  a church 
bell  marked,  “Ring  till  Jesus  comes,”  was 
calling  attention  to  the  business  of  the  hour, 
which  was  to  repent,  get  right  with  God, 
restore,  live  straight. 

The  boys  in  the  middle  school,  modern- 
day  young  men,  who  had  spent  years  in 
Western  study,  had  filled  up  on  politics  and 
were  ready  to  sacrifice  anything  in  behalf  of 
their  nation,  were  hushed  by  this  mystery. 
Elder  Kim  Chan-sung,  who  led  in  their  meet- 
ings, told  me  that  when  they  met  there  was 
silence  as  if  no  man  were  present,  but  that 
suddenly  when  the  name  of  Jesus  was  men- 
tioned the  whole  place  was  electrified  by  the 
spirit  of  conviction.  One  can  never  tell  it.  It 
is  wrapped  away,  recorded  on  the  sensitive 
register  that  will  come  forth  on  the  great  day 
when  all  accounts  are  settled. 

Little  children  were  in  no  wise  exempt. 
Something  told  them,  wee  tots  though  they 
were,  that  God  had  a reckoning  on  hand  with 
sin.  Many  of  them  with  the  clearer  eyesight 
of  the  child  saw  wonderful  visions  up  in  the 
heavenly  places.  Many  wept  over  their  little 
wayward  ways  and  went  and  told  father  and 
mother,  and  asked  forgiveness.  Some  children 


Effect  Among 
Boys 


Even  Reaches 
Little  Children 


212 


Korea  in  Transition 


whose  parents  were  unbelievers,  went  home 
and  in  tears  begged  them  to  come  to  Jesus. 
Helper  Kim  Ik-too  of  Sin  chun,  twenty-five 
miles  from  Ping  yang,  told  of  children  who, 
when  they  asked  their  parents  to  give  their 
hearts  to  God,  were  soundly  beaten.  “What 
rubbish  is  this  you  dare  talk  to  us?”  said  the 
irate  father,  but  it  only  made  the  children  all 
the  more  earnest  in  their  prayers.  Beating 
would  not  stop  them;  glaring  at  them  Orien- 
tal fashion  was  of  no  use;  threatening  to  kill 
them  only  increased  their  zeal ; in  some  cases 
the  parents  said,  “Well  I'll  be  smitten  if  this 
doesn’t  beat  everything,”  put  their  fingers  in 
their  ears,  and  ran.  In  other  cases  they  yielded 
and  bowed  down  in  a similar  confession  and 
worship. 

joyful  For  two  weeks  school  studies  were  laid 

Intercession  . . 

aside  and  the  time  given  up  to  prayer.  After 
all  the  sins,  from  murder  to  small  spites  and 
bickerings,  had  been  confessed  and  put  away, 
some  sweet  angel  seemed  to  come  and  clothe 
the  lads  with  quietness.  In  the  ineffable 
purity  of  the  wake  of  this  storm,  prayers  were 
poured  out  for  others.  All  day  long  was  too 
short  to  pray.  Formerly  it  had  been  tiresome 
to  weather  through  a single  prayer-meeting 


Members  of  Bible  Class,  Four  Walked  ioo  Miles  to  Attend 


Upper  Class,  Ping  yang  Theological  School.  Ping  yang 


The  Response  of  Korea  213 

hour,  now  meals  were  forgotten  in  the  joy  of 
intercession. 

The  range  of  the  influence  too  was  one  of 
the  marvels.  Old  conservative  Koreans  who 
had  drunk  deep  of  Confucius  and  had  wor- 
shiped every  conceivable  god,  whose  pride  of 
spirit  made  them  unapproachable,  were  among 
the  broken-hearted  and  the  contrite.  Women 
who  had  been  victims  of  every  vile  circum- 
stance of  life,  were  given  heavenly  vision  and 
purity.  Little  children  prayed  the  night 
through  and  saw  wonders  that  Joel  said  some 
children  were  to  see.  Western  missionaries, 
trained  in  other  lands  and  formed  of  other 
human  flesh,  were  likewise  brought  low  down. 
They  do  not  say  much  about  it  to-day  and 
advertise  it  not  at  all,  but  they  do  emphatically 
declare  that  it  was  one  of  God’s  great  wonders, 
and  that  they  expect  to  see  nothing  like  it  till 
the  gates  of  paradise  unfold  and  God  himself 
is  with  us. 

Japanese  too  were  blessed.  Mr.  Murata,  a 
Methodist  pastor,  who  had  seen  actual  hostil- 
ities in  the  late  war,  and  had  been  decorated 
for  distinguished  service,  was  present,  and  in 
the  abundant  blessing  said  in  his  broken  Eng- 
lish, “Oh  tanks,  tanks,  tanks ! Had  I not 


Japanese 
Testimony— The 
City  Canvassed 


214  Korea  in  Transition 

come,  I had  not  known  to  be  fulfilled  with  the 
Spirit.”  As  one  result,  the  whole  city  of 
50,000  inhabitants  was  mapped  out  and  every 
man  heard  the  gospel  from  some  earnest  heart 
blessed  to  overflowing. 

To  all  parts  of  the  land  word  had  gone,  and 
here  and  there  similar  manifestations  occurred. 
From  the  old  city  of  Seoul  went  a delegation 
asking  for  Keel;  that  he  should  come  and 
speak  to  them,  dear  blind  Keel ! Led  through 
the  streets  of  the  capital,  he  takes  command 
of  the  meetings.  What  a thrill  of  influence 
accompanied,  what  deep  and  lasting  results 
followed,  even  as  conservative  a man  as  Dr. 
W.  D.  Reynolds  whole-heartedly  acknowl- 
edges. Mr.  Yi  Chang- jik,  for  fifteen  years  a 
Bible  translator  and  Christian  writer,  followed 
these  meetings  with  the  keenest  of  interest. 
He  had  no  use  for  hysteria.  “Besides,”  said 
he,  “Koreans  are  inclined  to  make  a habit  of 
such  extravagances  and  to  think  them  real.” 
But  Yi  was  brought  to  his  knees  in  a single 
meeting,  and  then  went  to  Keel  saying,  “Please 
pray  for  me.”  “I  watched  Keel,”  said  he. 
“was  in  the  room  with  him.  He  seemed  to 
pray  all  night,  pray  all  night  and  then  speak 
three  or  four  times  a day,  led  here  and  there 


The  Response  of  Korea 


215 


by  the  hand,  and  never  seemed  to  be  tired. 
His  words  were  like  a prophet’s  risen  from  the 
dead,  none  could  withstand  them.”  In  Seoul 
also  many  repented  and  flocked  to  the  meet- 
ings. To  this  day  permanent  and  lasting 
results  go  on  and  on. 

Wider  than  Korea  have  the  influences 
extended.  Sometimes  we  say,  “Would  that 
some  colossal  force  might  lift  China;  would 
that  God  might  get  under  China  and  break  her 
up  forever;”  with  her  submerged  millions, 
alive  and  not  alive,  human  and  yet  hardly 
human,  sane  and  yet  insane,  filled  with  all  of 
hell  and  almost  none  of  heaven,  dense  as 
armor-plate  in  the  matter  of  conscience  and 
soul.  What  can  save  China?  Can  poor 
humbled  Korea  count  for  anything  in  the  lift- 
ing of  China’s  millions?  In  Mukden,  Man- 
churia, they  had  heard  of  great  revivals  in  the 
land  of  Korea.  Two  elders  would  come  and 
see.  But  they  came  too  late,  and  the  meetings 
were  over.  Ping  yang  was  quiet,  there  were 
no  special  gatherings,  and  the  old  world  had 
returned.  Why  had  they  come  so  late? 
What  made  their  mission  impossible  was  the 
fact  that  they  could  not  speak  Korean,  and  no 
one  ;n  Ping  yang  could  speak  Chinese.  But 


Chinese  Seeking 
Light 


2l6 


Korea  in  Transition 


Grayer  Together 


Prof.  Brown  on 
the  Manchurian 
Revival 


they  had  come  Chinese-like  all  out  of  sense 
and  season.  We  are  told  that  they  called  first 
on  some  non-christian  Chinese  merchant  and 
asked  if  there  were  any  Yesoo  Chow  (Chris- 
tians) in  Ping  yang.  ?‘Plenty,”  said  the  mer- 
chant. “Are  they  good  ?”  “Yes  can  do,”  was 
the  reply.  “How  do  you  know?  You  are 
not  a Christian.”  “Know?  My  belong 
merchant  I savez.  Korean  man  no  good  pay. 
One  man  very  bad  catchee  much  merchandise 
no  pay,  never  will  pay,  never  can  pay. 
Afterwards  same  man  came  all  makee  pay  up. 
My  velly  glad.  I say,  ‘Why  you  pay  now? 
You  no  pay  before.’  Korean  man  say,  ‘Now 
I belong  Christian,  not  Christian  before,  now 
I pay.’  Yesoo  Chow  velly  good.” 

They  met  with  Keel  and  others  of  the 
leaders  and  they  walked  in  silence  together 
through  the  city.  They  prayed,  the  Chinese 
in  their  unintelligible  monosyllables,  and  the 
Koreans  in  their  world-forgotten  language  of 
antiquity.  Back  to  Mukden  they  went.  Mr. 
Goforth,  too,  came  at  about  the  same  time. 

As  to  the  results  I will  let  Prof.  J.  Macmillan 
Brown  tell  from  a special  article  recently 
written.  Prof.  Brown  is  a hard-headed 
Scotchman,  a graduate  of  Oxford,  professor 


The  Response  of  Korea  217 

of  English  Literature  for  years,  and  a non- 
christian.  He  says:  “The  Manchurian  revi- 
val began  in  Liaoyang  on  the  return  of  two 
elders  from  Korea,  bringing  news  of  the 
spread  of  religion  in  that  country.  They  and 
Mr.  Goforth,  a Canadian  missionary  from 
Ho-nan,  who  had  also  just  visited  Korea, 
gave  an  account  of  the  movement  to  the 
church  at  Liaoyang.  And  at  once  similar 
phenomena  took  place.  They  came  to  Muk- 
den and  the  excitement  began  there  in  the 
same  way.  It  was  here  that  Mr.  Webster’s 
personal  observation  of  the  movement  began. 
He  tells  of  the  crowded  church,  and  the  sudden 
emotional  infection  that  seized  it  without 
apparent  cause;  for  the  evangelist  gave  his 
story  in  a quiet  tone  and  unimpassioned  way. 
Twice  a day  the  crowd  came  through  the  miry 
streets  (and  there  is  nothing  to  surpass  the 
mire  and  ruts  of  Mukden)  and  the  bitterly 
cold  winter  air  to  listen  to  the  story  and  the 
appeal.  Men  and  women  broke  into  fervent 
prayer  who  had  never  uttered  a prayer  in 
public  before.  Strong  men  broke  into  sobs 
and  threw  themselves  on  their  faces  and  wept. 
Others  made  wild  confession  of  the  sins  of 
their  former  life.  All  vied  with  each  other  in 


2l8 


Korea  in  Transition 


Words  of 
Missionaries 


generous  gifts  to  the  cause  of  evangelism,  and 
in  restitution  to  those  whom  they  had 
wronged.  They  offered  land,  houses,  a tenth 
or  more  of  their  incomes  or  salaries.  Some 
offered  gifts  in  kind ; like  a Chinese,  who  said 
he  had  received  a great  blessing,  and  had  noth- 
ing to  offer  by  way  of  expressing  his  gratitude 
‘except  a black  calf  with  a white  stripe’  which 
he  offered.  Then  volunteers  came  forward 
and  went  out  to  the  villages  all  over  the  prov- 
ince to  tell  of  the  strange  thing  that  had 
occurred,  and  to  stir  like  enthusiasm. 

“One  or  two  extracts  from  the  letters  of 
the  missionaries  will  describe  it  better  than 
anything  second-hand.  ‘Even  outsiders  have 
been  drawn  into  the  tempest  of  confes- 
sion and  prayer,  and  in  some  cases  great  fear 
has  fallen  on  the  neighborhood.  One  man 
who  had  been  associated  with  highway  rob- 
bers, and  had  been  submitted  to  torture  dur- 
ing six  months  to  extort  a confession  from 
him,  but  in  vain,  came  forward  at  these  meet- 
ings and  confessed  his  sins  and  writhed  in 
agony  on  the  floor  for  a long  time.’  Dr. 
Phillips  of  Newchwang  writes  that  he  had  ‘a 
strong  temperamental  prejudice  against  re- 
vival hysteria  in  all  its  forms,’  yet  he  describes 


The  Response  of  Korea 


219 


a meeting  he  attended  as  something  beyond 
his  experience  and  outside  the  range  of  mere 
hysteria : ‘The  very  air  was  electric,  and  above 
the  sobbing  in  strained  choking  tones  men 
began  to  make  confession.  Words  of  mine 
will  fail  to  describe  the  awe,  and  terror,  and 
pity  of  these  confessions,  mostly  of  trivial 
offenses  yet  leading  to  bitter  remorse;  it  was 
the  agony  of  the  penitent,  his  groans  and  cries, 
and  voice  shaken  with  sobs ; it  was  the  sight  of 
men  forced  to  their  feet  and  impelled  to  lay 
bare  their  hearts  that  moved  one.’ 

“ ‘At  Fakumen,  seventy  miles  to  the  north- 
west of  Mukden,  it  was  the  same  storm  of 
prayer,  confession,  and  agonized  weeping, 
and  boundless  generosity.  Two  men  con- 
fessed each  to  murder  and  looting  during  the 
Boxer  year.  Many  fell  in  a trance  on  the 
floor.  Such  crowds  inside  and  outside  the 
church  had  never  been  thought  possible  before 
at  Fakumen.’  ‘At  Hailuncheng,  recently 
colonized,  after  a period  of  indifference  the 
whole  audience  fell  on  their  faces,  loudly  cry- 
ing for  mercy.’  ” 

Prof.  Brown,  in  the  article  previously  re- 
ferred to,  goes  on  to  say:  “It  would  be 
a remarkable  movement  in  any  part  of  the 


Interest  at 
Fakumen  and 
Hailuncheng 


An 

Unprecedented 

Movement 


220 


Korea  in  Transition 


But  One 
Explanation 


No  Defense 
Needed 


Keel’s 

Conclusion 


world;  it  is  unprecedented  and  striking  in 
China.” 

Thus  from  the  sorrows  of  this  old  land,  and 
through  the  instrumentality  of  many  praying 
Christians,  there  has  gone  forth  this  light  that 
is  flashing  on  and  on  through  the  palpable 
darknesses  of  China.  Who  but  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  back  of  it?  Who  but  he  could  so 
unveil  the  mysteries  of  the  soul?  Who  make 
these  sordid,  cankered  races  appreciative  of  the 
pure  and  beautiful? 

There  are  no  criticisms  to  offer.  Why  was 
it  thus  and  thus?  Why  such  confessions? 
Why  not  more  order?  Where  were  the  Meth- 
odist Discipline  and  the  Presbyterian  Rules 
for  Worship?  These  are  all  vain  and  useless 
questions.  The  whole  revival  was  after  the 
order  of  persistent  prayer;  it  was  according 
to  the  needs  of  the  time  and  place;  it  was  of 
God,  and  so  let  all  the  earth  be  silent. 

The  writer  was  far  away  in  America  when 
the  revival  took  place.  Keel  wrote  him  a 
letter  on  the  25th  day  of  the  first  Moon,  right 
in  the  whirl  of  it,  and  among  other  things  he 
said:  “If  God  had  not  manifested  thus  his 
Spirit,  the  Church  of  Korea  would  have  been 
great  only  in  appearance,  but  Satan  would 


The  Response  of  Korea 


221 


have  ruled,  and  I fear  few  would  have  been 
saved.  No  power  can  tell  of  the  blessing,  nor 
can  I write  with  pen  all  that  God  has  done. 
My  prayer  is  that  the  Spirit  may  be  poured 
out  on  you  as  he  has  been  manifested  here.” 

In  all  the  wonders  of  the  ages,  that  the 
ancient  walls  of  Ping  yang  have  enclosed  and 
looked  down  upon — wonders  that  have  in- 
cluded the  splendors  of  the  Tangs,  the  Hans, 
the  Mings;  wonders  that  are  known  nowhere 
but  in  the  tinted  and  highly-colored  East — 
the  strangest,  the  most  inexplicable,  the  most 
awe-inspiring  wonder  has  been  the  turning  of 
these  long-lost  races  back  to  God. 


SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VII 

Aim:  To  Appreciate  the  Response  Which  the 
Koreans  are  Making  to  the  Gospel 

I.  Self-propagation  by  the  Native  Church. 

1.  Is  it  not  the  main  business  of  the  missionary 
to  preach  the  gospel  ? 

2.  Has  he  any  right  to  surrender  this  work  to 
others? 

3. *  What  advantages  has  the  missionary  as  an 

evangelist  over  the  native  Korean? 

4*  What  advantages  has  the  native  Korean  over 
the  missionary? 


Ping  yang’s 

Supreme 

Wonder 


222 


Korea  in  Transition 


5-  Do  you  think  that  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
would  succeed  in  Anglo-Saxon  countries,  if 
it  never  employed  any  but  Italian  priests? 

6.  Criticise  this  policy,  and  apply  your  criticism 
to  the  work  of  missionaries  in  Korea. 

7.  If  you  were  a missionary,  how  would  you  try 
to  secure  the  cooperation  of  your  converts  in 
evangelistic  work? 

8.  When  you  had  succeeded,  what  work  would 
you  reserve  for  yourself? 

9. *  How  would  you  guard  against  the  spread  of 

false  and  superficial  views  by  recent  converts? 

10.  To  what  extent  do  you  think  the  Korean 
principles  of  self-propagation  could  be  profit- 
ably applied  in  this  country? 

II.  Self-government  by  the  Native  Church. 

11.  What  are  the  dangers  in  placing  so  much  re- 
sponsibility for  self-government  upon  the 
native  Church? 

12.  What  are  the  advantages  of  native  self-gov- 
ernment? 

13. *  Sketch  what  you  would  consider  an  ideal  plan 

for  the  government  of  a native  Church. 

14.  What  effect  would  the  patriarchal  ideas  of  the 
Koreans  have  upon  self-government? 

15. *  How  would  you  seek  to  develop  initiative 

among  the  native  leaders? 

16.  How  would  you  secure  cooperation  and  self- 
government  among  the  laity? 

III.  Self-support  by  the  Native  Church. 

1 7. *  What  are  the  arguments  for  a free  use  of 

foreign  money  in  building  up  the  native 
Church  ? 


The  Response  of  Korea 


223 


18. *  What  are  the  arguments  for  requiring  the 

native  Church  to  meet  all  its  own  expenses? 

19.  What  things  can  the  Church  at  home  wisely 
provide  for  the  Korean  Christians? 

20.  Has  a field  so  responsive  as  Korea  any  right 
to  ask  for  more  missionaries? 

21.  Apply  to  yourself  personally  and  to  your  lo- 
cality the  lessons  to  be  learned  from  the 
Korean  Christians. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  VII 

I.  Korean  Response. 

Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors,  pp.  346-350. 

Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
pp.  185,  189,  193-196,  310-318. 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  pp.  160-162, 
225-228. 

II.  Self-support. 

Gifford : Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  ch.  XIV. 

Underwood : The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  145,  146. 

Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
PP-  132,  133-  145.  146. 

III.  Obstacles  to  Receiving  Christianity. 

Gifford:  Every-day  Life  in  Korea,  pp.  158-160, 
163-169. 

IV.  The  Revival. 

Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Topknots, 
ch.  XIX. 


GROWTH,  PRESENT  CONDI- 
TIONS, AND  OUTLOOK 


»*j 


Are  Koreans  capable  of  high  attainment?  This  question 
was  asked  the  writer  in  April,  1903,  by  Captain  Crown, 
commander  of  the  Russian  gunboat  Mandjure.  I replied, 
“We  are  experimenting;  not  convinced  as  yet.”  He  went  on 
to  say,  “I  have  never  been  in  Korea,  but  know  something 
of  Koreans.  It  came  about  in  this  way:  In  1870  my  father 
was  governor  of  Eastern  Siberia,  and  on  a.  journey  in  the 
winter  from  Vladivostok  to  Nikolaievsk,  we  passed  many 
Koreans  who  had  come  north  over  the  border.  One  evening, 
on  the  side  of  the  roadway,  we  saw  some  blankets  heaped  up 
together  and  wrapped  about  something.  My  mother  had 
one  of  the  Cossack  guards  dismount  and  find  out.  The  quilts 
covered  two  little  Korean  girls,  who  were  almost  perished. 
They  were  taken  into  the  sled,  wrapped  up  warm,  and 
became  members  of  our  family.  A month  later  we  were 
called  to  St.  Petersburg,  and  they  went  too.  They  grew  up 
excellent  students,  both,  one  remarkably  so,  as  she  far  outdid 
me  in  mathematics  and  English.  After  graduation,  one  went 
out  to  Vladivostok  as  a missionary  of  the  Greek  Church  to 
her  own  people  and  there  died;  the  other  is  to-day  governess 
in  the  home  of  the  Grand  Duke  of  Constantine  and  has  care 
of  his  little  daughter.  She  rides  out  in  her  fine  carriage  and 
has  her  letters  handed  to  her  on  a silver  tray  and  is  one  of  the 
most  cultured  ladies  I know.” 

— James  S.  Gale 

We  are  pressed  on  even,'  side  by  men  and  women  who  want 
us  to  teach  them  about  Christ.  We  have  a hundred  more 
invitations  than  we  can  accept.  Last  fall  some  Koreans 
came  in  to  see  me  and  asked  me  if  I could  come  out  to  their 
village  at  once  and  teach  them.  When  I told  them  that  I 
could  not  go  they  pulled  out  some  bank  notes  and  asked 
me  if  I would  go  if  I were  paid.  They  were  in  earnest.  So 
it  is  all  over  this  great  district.  I could  keep  six  missionaries 
busy  all  the  time,  and  then  have  work  for  more.  Korea 
can  be  won  for  Christ,  and  in  this  generation.  If  the  Church 
will  give  us  what  we  ask  for  now  and  strongly  reinforce  our 
work  in  the  next  ten  years,  this  old  heathen  nation  will  line 
up  with  the  other  Christian  nations  of  the  world.  It  can  be 
made  the  first-fruits  of  the  Church  in  the  Orient.  It  must 
be  done  quickly.  Our  opportunity  is  rapidly  passing  away. 
New  forces  are  at  work  which  are  makmg  it  more  difficult 
for  us  to  work.  What  is  done  must  be  done  now. 

—E.  M.  Cable 


VIII 


GROWTH,  PRESENT  CONDITIONS, 
AND  OUTLOOK 

Each  new  year’s  statistics  from  Korea 
seems  more  remarkable  than  the  last.  The 
first  converts  were  baptized  in  the  summer  of 
1886.  By  1890  the  number  of  converts  con- 
nected with  all  missions  was  somewhat  over 
100.  As  compared  with  many  other  fields, 
this  is  a rapid  growth.  Dr.  Beach’s  Geog- 
raphy and  Atlas  of  Protestant  Missions 
gives  the  figures  at  the  end  of  the  year  1900 
as  follows:  “All  Protestant  missionaries  in- 

cluding wives,  14 1 ; stations,  26;  outstations, 
354;  communicants,  8,288.  The  latest  statis- 
tics available  read : missionaries,  248 ; stations, 
37;  outstations,  1,149;  communicants,  50,089; 
adherents,  111,379.  Some  striking  details  of 
growth  in  the  number  of  communicants  in  two 
denominations  are  as  follows : 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church 

1902 

1905 

1908 


Remarkatk 

Progress 


327 


5.855 

7.796 

24,246 


228 


Korea  in  Transition 


Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


1902 

1905 

1908 


6,395 

9756 

19,654 


Characteristic 

Reports 


Strategic 
Opportunity 
for  Asia 


The  following  reports  are  characteristic: 

“More  new  churches,  more  new  communi- 
cants, and  more  contributions  than  ever  before 
in  one  year.” 

“Ping  yang  records  2,206  communicants  for 
1908,  as  compared  with  1,106  for  the  preceding 
year.” 

“Syen  chun  reports  1,388  baptisms  and  2,045 
additions  to  the  catechumens  during  the  past 
year.” 

“Already  the  country  is  waking  up  and  2 
new  era  is  dawning.  The  fullest  possible 
religious  liberty  is  enjoyed  and  the  opportunity 
■which  opens  before  the  Church  is  of  a marvel- 
ous character.  The  people  at  large  are  turn- 
ing to  the  Church  in  multitudes.  They  are 
convinced  that  Christianity  offers  the  only  sal- 
vation for  them,  and  that  through  its  ethical 
and  spiritual  power  alone  they  will  be  able  to 
develop  a manhood  equal  to  the  new  oppor- 
tunities which  open  before  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  Church  itself  is  alive  as  never  before ; 


Methodist  Church,  Seoul 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  229 


and  the  native  Christian  leaders  are  planning 
for  nothing  less  than  the  evangelization  of  the 
nation.  The  new  Korea  will  be  a Christian 
Korea  and  that  within  a comparatively  short 
period  of  time.  Churches  are  multiplying  in 
all  directions.  It  is  not  possible  for  a foreign 
missionary  to  keep  in  personal  touch  with  the 
multiplied  groups  which  spring  up  everywhere. 
Evangelistically,  the  opportunity  of  the  Asiatic 
continent  of  the  present  day  is  to  be  found  in 
Korea.  No  other  field  compares  with  this  in 
the  urgency  and  the  promise  of  its  condition. 
This  is  the  strategic  people  and  the  present  is 
the  strategic  time  in  this  land.  Ten  millions 
of  souls  await  help  and  instruction  which  the 
Christian  Church  can  give. 

“The  growth  of  the  Church  in  Korea  fur- 
nishes a bright  promise  of  the  speedy  evangel- 
ization of  this  people.  The  first  converts  under 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  were  reported 
in  1888  and  numbered  thirty-eight.  In  1907 
the  total  following  of  the  Church  was 
39,613 — an  increase  over  the  beginning  of 
over  a thousandfold.  An  examination  of  the 
statistics  of  the  mission  will  show  that  the 
ratio  of  increase  has  practically  been  main- 
tained from  the  beginning,  and  all  signs  indi- 


Methodist 
Episcopal 
Church  Growth 


230  Korea  in  Transition 

cate  that  this  increase  may  continue  for  an 
indefinite  time.  It  is  easy  to  work  out  marvel- 
ous results  with  figures  in  connection  with  any 
enterprise,  but  when  one  contemplates  the 
numerical  growth  of  the  Church  in  the  Korean 
field  the  result  must  be  a great  strengthening 
of  the  faith  of  the  Church  in  the  complete  suc- 
cess of  its  mission  to  the  world.  In  Korea  we 
have  a field  in  which  there  is  promise  of  the 
rapid  evangelization  of  the  entire  nation,  and 
whose  very  condition  constitutes  an  imperative 
call  to  the  Church  to  concentrate  her  effort  on 
the  great  work  of  giving  a people  so  ready  for 
it  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  results  reported 
in  Korea  have  been  achieved  in  the  midst  of  a 
poverty  of  men  and  resources  which  might 
well  have  daunted  the  best  workers.  The 
Korean  mission  has  had  fourteen  men,  thirteen 
wives,  and  thirteen  Woman’s  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary Society  workers,  or  a total  of  fort}’. 
We  are  confident  that  if  the  Church  had  given 
Korea  five  times  the  number  of  missionaries 
the  field  now  possesses,  the  results  in  converts 
would  have  been  many  times  what  they  are. 
There  has  been  in  Korea  only  one  native 
worker  for  each  660  of  the  Church-member- 
ship, and  only  one  missionary  (man)  for  each 


Christian  Men  Gathered  for  Two  Weeks'  Riri.e  Study 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  231 


1,630  Church-members.  Taking  the  past 
three  years  into  consideration,  the  average  rate 
of  increase  in  Korea  has  been  over  33  per  cent. 
If  this  rate  of  increase  is  maintained  for  a pe- 
riod of  ten  years,  there  will  be  in  the  care  of 
our  mission  in  Korea  a total  Church-member- 
ship of  over  400,000.” 

“At  a meeting  of  our  pastors  and  preachers 
in  Seoul  the  question  was  asked  them  as  to  the 
extent  of  our  work.  The  answer  was  that 
our  present  enrolment  of  forty-five  thousand 
must  be  multiplied  by  ten  to  express  the  num- 
ber who  to-day  stand  just  outside  the  threshold 
of  our  Church  in  Korea,  ready  to  accept  the 
Christian  faith  if  we  only  give  them  the 
chance.  It  is  a matter  of  men  and  money  now. 
The  present  conditions  will  not  abide  perma- 
nently in  Korea.  To-day  Christianity  is  the 
national  enthusiasm  of  the  Korean  people. 
Surely,  half  a million  souls  are  worth  a 
supreme  effort  upon  our  part  as  servants  of 
the  Christ  who  died  upon  the  cross — yea,  and 
arose  and  ascended  for  us.  Are  not  all  these 
things  providentially  related?  Is  not  this  the 
finger  of  God  ?” 

A notable  feature  of  the  work  in  Korea  has 
been  the  Bible  training  classes.  The  follow- 


Number  Now 
Accessible 


Bible  Training 
Classes 


232 


Korea  in  Transition 


Class  Methods 
of  Work 


Impressive 

Results 


ing  extracts  from  a Board  report  will  give 
some  idea  of  their  present  growth : 

“The  conduct  of  the  annual  Bible  class  for 
men  was  a matter  for  grave  concern,  with  only 
one  clergyman  in  the  station  and  probably  over 
600  to  be  instructed.  As  a consequence  wTe 
were  obliged  to  depend  more  largely  than  ever 
on  the  native  helpers  and  colporteurs.  The 
class  was  attended  by  over  500  from  a dis- 
tance, and  among  them  was  a large  propor- 
tion from  the  most  outlying  regions  of  our 
work.  A number  came  100  miles  to  attend.” 
“The  way  the  Christians  lay  aside  their  work 
and  attend  these  classes  for  Bible  study  is  a 
constant  wonder  and  delight.  Those  who 
study  bear  their  own  expenses ; and  in  the  city 
we  assess  each  student  a small  amount  to  pay 
the  running  expenses  of  the  class. 

“The  winter  class  in  the  city  was  attended 
by  about  900  men  from  all  parts  of  the  prov- 
ince. While  there  was  none  of  that  terrible 
conviction  and  confession  of  sin  of  the  year 
before,  it  was  a time  of  deep  consecration  to 
the  Master’s  service.  The  after  effects  were 
very  evident  in  the  country  churches.  Alto- 
gether there  have  been  held  15 1 classes  for 
men  in  the  country  churches,  attended  by 


Women’s  Bible  Institute 


Growti-i,  Conditions,  Outlook  233 

6,575  persons.  The  three  city  classes  were 
attended  by  about  1,500  persons.”  “The  mid- 
winter Bible  class  for  men  in  February  had 
an  attendance  of  800,  a gain  of  300  over  last 
year.  The  men  came  from  all  the  churches 
and  remained  for  instruction  ten  days.  After 
effects  appeared  in  a series  of  small  classes 
held  by  the  Koreans  themselves  at  various 
places.  The  yearly  growth  of  this  midwinter 
class,  the  interest  of  the  students,  and  their 
zealous  though  laborious  efforts  at  note-tak- 
ing attest  the  value  that  the  Koreans  them- 
selves set  upon  them.” 

“The  largest  class  ever  held  in  Korea  was 
held  in  February  in  the  Syen  chun  church. 
Five  Bible  study  classes  for  men  were  con- 
ducted by  the  men  of  the  station  during  the 
year,  enrolling  over  2,500.  The  classes  for 
women  have  been  especially  well  attended. 
The  two  classes  held  in  Syen  chun  enrolled 
660.  Miss  Samuels  held  sixteen  classes  dur- 
ing the  year,  enrolling  2,458  women.” 

An  illustration  of  another  type  of  Bible 
classes,  organized  by  native  workers  and  held 
in  the  villages  for  all  members  of  the 
Churches,  has  been  given  by  the  Rev.  J.  Z. 
Moore. 


Large  Classes 


Native  Workers' 
Plan 


234 


Korea  in  Transition 


Bible  Study 
«nd  Revival 
Services 


Crowned  with 
Blessing 


“At  the  close  of  our  conference  in  Decem- 
ber, I had  intended  to  get  the  leaders  together 
and  make  out  a plan  for  a week  of  Bible 
study  and  revival  services  at  each  church  on 
my  circuits.  But  as  with  many  of  ‘the  best 
laid  plans  of  mice  and  men’  a broken  arm  un- 
expectedly brought  this  to  an  end.  On  the 
closing  day  of  the  conference,  between  the 
pains  in  my  arm,  I was  wondering  how  we 
could  get  along  without  the  Bible  classes,  and 
why  I had  been  put  out  of  service  just  at  the 
time  of  greatest  opportunity.  While  I was 
yet  thinking,  one  of  the  native  preachers  came 
in  bringing  a paper.  Knowing  that  I could 
not  take  charge  of  it,  the  native  preacher  and 
Church  officers  in  attendance  at  the  conference 
had  met  together  and  made  out  a plan  where- 
by each  of  the  twenty-six  churches  would 
have  a week  of  Bible  study  and  revival  serv- 
ices under  the  leadership  of  two  tried  and  true 
men.  They  had  sent  me  a copy  of  the  plan 
that  I might  know  where  each  man  would  be 
and  follow  him  with  my  prayers. 

“I  awaited  with  expectation  the  results  of 
these  classes.  Soon  reports  began  to  come  in 
that  they  were  having  good  times  in  the  coun- 
try, but  I had  no  definite  report  till  these 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  235 

same  native  preachers  and  many  of  the  Church 
officers  gathered  in  January  for  our  theo- 
logical class.  I soon  had  them  all  together 
for  an  afternoon  tea  and  report  of  the  classes. 
Every  class,  with  the  exception  of  one,  had 
been  held  as  scheduled,  and  every  man  had 
gone  to  the  place  appointed,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two,  who  had  exchanged  places.  Each 
man,  it  should  be  noted,  went  from  his  home 
church  to  another  place  for  this  work,  and  the 
local  churches  bore  all  expenses  of  heat,  light, 
and  evangelists’  board.  The  attendance  was 
from  25  at  the  smallest  church  to  over  80  at 
the  largest.  In  all,  over  1,000,  one  third  of 
whom  were  women,  attended  the  regular  Bible 
classes  in  the  daytime ; and  the  revival  services 
at  night  were  attended  at  many  places  by  all 
who  could  crowd  into  the  churches.  The  real 
inner  results  cannot  be  told,  but  can  be  seen 
all  over  the  work.  Though  many  of  the 
teachers  were  all  too  deficient  in  Bible  knowl- 
edge, yet  at  each  class  God  had  ‘much  new 
light  to  break  forth  from  his  holy  Word,’  and 
at  several  places  the  revival  services  were  jus( 
as  marked  in  sorrow  for  the  burden  of  sin 
and  joy  for  pardon  and  forgiveness  found,  as 
those  of  last  year.  Most  of  all,  the  leaders  of 


236 


Korea  in  Transition 


Subscriptions 
of  Time 


these  meetings,  many  of  whom  had  never  at- 
tempted anything  of  the  kind  before,  were 
blessed  in  their  own  spiritual  lives  and  built 
up  in  the  faith,  learning  for  the  first  time,  as 
some  one  said  at  our  afternoon  meeting,  that 
‘it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,’ 
and  that  one  does  not  really  get  the  gospel 
until  he  gives  to  others  what  he  has  received. 

“The  greatest  result  of  these  Bible  classes 
and  revival  services  in  the  direct  and  imme- 
diate extension  of  the  kingdom  is  found  in 
what  the  natives  call  Nal  Yunbo.  On  the  last 
day  of  the  meetings,  in  the  public  service  they 
prepare  a subscription  paper,  and  each  man 
and  woman  according  to  his  own  heart,  in- 
stead of  giving  money,  gives  so  many  days  to 
house  to  house  and  village  to  village  preach- 
ing. Last  year  at  just  a few  churches  this 
was  done,  but  this  year  every  church  reported 
on  Nal  Yunbo.  This  preaching  was  not  only 
all  without  pay,  but  some  would  be  at  personal 
expense  as  well  as  time  lost  from  their  work. 
Yet  at  one  church  they  gave  altogether  over 
one  thousand  days  and  at  Chinnampo  one 
woman  pledged  six  months  of  the  year  to 
preaching.  I cannot  tell  anything  of  the  whole 
results,  but  a few  features  from  reports  will 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  237 


give  you  at  least  a faint  idea  of  the  workings 
of  this  unique  plan. 

One  man  said,  as  his  house  was  by  the  side 
of  the  road,  he  preached  to  all  who  passed  and 
most  of  them  received  the  word  gladly.  An- 
other man  during  three  weeks  preached  defi- 
nitely from  house  to  house  to  two  hundred 
people,  fifty  of  whom  believed.  At  one  church 
fifty  women  were  gathered  in  as  a result  of 
this  preaching  (for  the  women  went  from 
house  to  house  as  well  as  the  men),  and  they 
now  have  started  a night  school,  as  they  want 
to  learn  to  read  the  Bible  and  have  no  time  to 
study  in  the  daytime.  In  all,  new  work  has 
sprung  up  in  over  forty  towns  as  a result  of 
this  preaching. 

Those  who  justly  lament  the  denominational 
differences  of  Christian  workers  on  the  foreign 
field  can  at  least  comfort  themselves  with  the 
thought  that  things  are  not  so  bad  as  they  are  at 
home.  There  is  in  general  closer  fellowship 
between  missionaries  of  different  boards  on  the 
foreign  field  than  between  pastors  of  different 
denominations  in  this  country.  Korea  has  been 
especially  favored  in  the  cordiality  of  the  rela- 
tions that  have  always  existed  between  the 
various  bodies  of  missionaries  working  there. 


Fruitful  Forms 
of  Effort 


Comity 


238 


Korea  in  Transition 


Young  Men’s 

Christian 

Association 


The  translation  of  the  Bible,  a union  hymnal, 
union  magazines,  both  in  Korean  and  English, 
and  Sunday-school  helps  are  all  under  inter- 
denominational auspices.  The  collegiate  and 
academy  work  at  Ping  yang  is  under  the  joint 
control  of  the  Northern  Methodists  and  North- 
ern Presbyterians.  The  converts  of  the  North- 
ern, Southern,  Canadian,  and  Australian  Pres- 
byterians are  united  in  a single  Church  with  a 
single  presbytery.  There  is  a general  council 
in  which  all  the  workers  except  those  of  the 
Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in 
Foreign  Parts  are  represented.  There  has 
been  an  assignment  of  fields  of  work  by 
mutual  agreement  in  order  to  prevent  over- 
lapping, and  in  some  cases  an  interchange  of 
fields  that  had  been  already  entered.  This 
adjustment  is  not  yet  complete,  but  is  pro- 
ceeding in  a fraternal  spirit.  Finally  there 
has  been  discussed  the  establishment  of  a 
single  Church  of  Christ  in  Korea  which  shall 
include  the  converts  of  all  the  Methodist  and 
Presbyterian  missions. 

The  new  building  of  the  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  in  Seoul  is  just  finished. 
It  stands  in  the  heart  of  the  city  and  the 
center  of  the  land.  It  is,  next  to  the  Roman 


Young  Men’s  Christian  Association  Building,  Seoul 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  239 

Catholic  Cathedral,  and  excepting  the  New 
Palace,  the  most  prominent  building  in  the 
capital.  At  the  opening  exercises  there  were 
present  representatives  from  China  and  Japan, 
and  on  the  closing  day  Prince  Ito  came  and 
made  a speech.  The  Korean  Chairman,  the 
Hon.  T.  H.  Yun,  at  the  closing  exercises  made 
an  appeal  to  his  own  people  to  help  this  work. 
He  said:  “I’ll  back  my  appeal  by  giving  500 
yen  ($250).  The  Prime  Minister  present 
gave  500  yen  as  well.  “This  is  for  Koreans,” 
said  Mr.  Yun,  “and  not  for  the  foreign  ladies 
and  gentlemen  present.”  A good-hearted 
Christian  druggist,  Yi  Min-sang,  who  gives 
alms  here,  there,  and  everywhere,  shouted,  “A 
thousand  yen,”  and  they  put  him  down.  In 
ten  minutes  subscriptions  amounting  to  6.700 
yen  were  received,  and  Prince  Ito  expressed 
his  pleasure  at  the  interest  manifested. 
Through  the  Young  Men’s  Christian  Asso- 
ciation gateway  are  coming  hundreds  of 
hungry  youth  for  help  on  life’s  pathway. 
“Teach  us,  tell  us,  guide  us,  show  us,  lead  us.” 
Few  if  any  mission  fields  in  the  world  make 
so  deep  an  impression  upon  travelers  as  does 
Korea.  About  a decade  ago,  Mrs.  Isabella 
Bird  Bishop  wrote  to  America : “The  Ping 


Statement  of 
Mrs.  Bishop 


240  Korea  in  Transition 

yang  work  which  I saw  last  winter  and  which 
is  still  going  on  in  much  the  same  way  is  the 
most  impressive  mission  work  I have  seen  in 
any  part  of  the  world.  It  shows  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  still  moves  on  the  earth,  and  that 
the  old  truths  of  sin  and  judgment  to  come, 
of  the  divine  justice  and  love,  of  the  atone- 
ment and  of  the  necessity  for  holiness,  have 
the  same  power  as  in  the  Apostolic  days  to 
transform  the  lives  of  men.  What  I saw  and 
heard  has  greatly  strengthened  my  own  faith. 
Now  a door  is  opened  wide  in  Korea,  how 
wide  only  those  can  know  who  are  on  the  spot. 
Very  many  are  prepared  to  renounce  devil 
worship  and  to  worship  the  true  God,  if  only 
they  are  taught  how,  and  large  numbers  more 
who  have  heard  and  received  the  gospel  are 
earnestly  craving  to  be  instructed  in  its  rules 
of  holy  living.  I dread  indescribably  that 
unless  many  men  and  women  experienced  in 
winning  souls  are  sent  speedily,  the  door 
which  the  Church  declines  to  enter  will  close 
again.” 

spiritual  Effects  A missionary  writes : “We  did  not  come  to 
the  foreign  field  expecting  to  have  our  own 
spiritual  lives  revived,  but  this  is  exactly  what 
happened.  The  atmosphere  here  seems  like 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  241 


Northfield.  Everywhere  people  are  praying. 
Every  Sabbath  sees  a congregation  of  about 
1,000  men,  women,  and  children  gathered  in 
the  church  here.” 

A recent  graduate  of  Vassar,  whose  per- 
sonal attitude  toward  missions  was  critical, 
wrote  home  to  her  mother  from  Ping  yang, 
during  the  latter  part  of  1907,  as  follows: 
“The  attitude  of  some  authors  and  of  many 
travelers  toward  the  Koreans  is  simply  ridicu- 
lous. They  are  in  some  respects  the  most 
remarkable  people  I have  ever  seen.  It  is  as 
though  they  had  been  asleep  in  a deadening 
stupor;  the  result  of  being  ground  under  the 
heel  of  a thoroughly  corrupt  and  oppressive 
government.  Christianity  has  come  to  them 
in  the  time  of  their  greatest  need,  and  is  ful- 
filling that  need  marvelously.  You  know  how 
critical  my  attitude  is,  you  know  that  I do 
not  stand  firm  for  mission  work  in  a sweeping, 
general  way.  However  agnostic  my  attitude, 
I have  nothing  whatever  to  say  but  that  the 
missions  are  saving  the  national  life  of  this 
people,  in  giving  them  through  Christianity  a 
life  that  they  could  have  in  no  other  way. 

“There  is  absolutely  no  room  for  argument 
against  missions  in  Korea.  The  lives  of  the 


A Convinced 
Witness 


No  Room  fot 
Argument 


242  Korea  in  Transition 

people  are  too  obviously  changed  from  hope- 
lessness to  vivid  righteousness  to  admit  of  any 
exception.  Whenever  the  incessant  wran- 
gling and  quarreling  that  goes  on  within  the 
dark,  tiny  walls  of  a mud  house  cease  the 
neighbors  will  say,  ‘Why,  so  and  so  must  have 
become  Christians,  they’re  so  quiet.’  The  dif- 
ference in  the  cleanliness  of  the  houses  is 
apparent  to  me,  and  even  in  four  days  I 
learned  to  pick  out  a Christian  woman  by  the 
expression  of  her  face.  . . . You  will  be 

astonished  at  my  utterances,  but  it  is  the  inev- 
itable result  of  an  open-minded  view  of  Korean 
conditions.  The  Korean  is,  as  a result  of 
natural  temperament  and  a deadening  gov- 
ernment, a singularly  passive,  childlike  man, 
with  little  ambition,  no  incentive,  because  every 
cent  of  money  made  was  inevitably  squeezed 
out  of  him  by  the  Yang  ban  (officers-noble), 
and  yet  with  brilliant  intellectual  capacity. 
He  is  far  more  of  a scholar  and  far  less  a 
man  of  action  than  the  Japanese;  he  has  far 
more  stability  and  a far  more  real  sense  of 
honor  than  the  Japanese.  Of  one  thing  I am 
certain — of  two  things:  that  the  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association  is  one  of  the  strongest 
powers  for  righteous  progress,  that  is,  real 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  243 


progress,  in  Japan  (and  I expect  to  be  able 
to  say  the  entire  East),  and  that  Christianity 
is  the  force  for  good  and  for  enlightenment 
in  Korea,  in  spite  of  all  that  may  be  said  con- 
cerning Japanese  reform,  governmental,  edu- 
cational, and  social.” 

Buried  for  ages  under  these  dragon  hills, 
unable  to  lift  the  million  pounds  of  pressure 
that  has  held  them  down,  calling  for  help  and 
no  voice  to  answer,  separated  from  light  and 
life  and  hope  by  ten  thousand  miles  of  impass- 
able sea  and  land,  these  young  men  and  women 
have  lived  and  died,  tortured  by  ignorance  and 
superstition,  victims  of  fate,  the  evil  eye,  the 
Eight  Characters,  the  Seven  Stars,  the  wind 
gods,  the  hill  devils,  and  all  other  ill  spirits  let 
loose,  with  no  one  to  tell  them  whence  they 
came,  whither,  or  how,  till  at  last  in  this  day 
of  revolution  the  load  is  to  be  lifted,  and  all 
men  will  be  free.  Even  while  Japan  rules,  and 
outwardly  they  are  brought  under  suzerainty, 
inwardly  the  Koreans  hear  the  note  of 
freedom. 

But  all  accomplished  thus  far  has  touched 
but  the  outskirts  of  the  nation.  It  would  take 
long  pages  to  tell  of  the  deliverance  yet  to  be 
wrought.  The  thirsty  land  longs  for  leaders, 


The  Present 


Thus  Par  the 
Work  Only 
Begun 


244 


Korea  in  Transition 


young  men  and  young  women,  who  will  guide 
and  conduct  along  the  way  of  intellect  and 
spirit,  till  they  arrive  at  a place  that  will  meet 
the  demands  of  the  soul.  The  nation  was  once 
a vast  prison,  but  is  now  being  metamorphosed 
into  a school  where  thousands  of  pupils  are  on 
hand.  Each  has  brought  his  little  note-book 
and  pencil;  each  has  learned  all  within  hail, 
to  make  sure  of  entrance.  They  wait,  wait, 
for  the  teacher  to  come.  To  some  he  has 
come,  and  thither  crowd  the  students,  but  for 
the  multiplying  majorities  there  is  no  teacher 
as  yet.  Western  knowledge,  Western  religion, 
the  secret  of  the  West,  is  what  the  East  is 
calling  for.  “Woe  betide  us,  if  you  give  it 
not,”  echoes  the  eternal  voice  of  all  the  ages. 
Give  it  we  must,  and  if  you  give  it  not  some 
one  more  highly  favored  will  step  in  and 
give  it,  but  not  for  you.  The  discovery 
of  an  unoccupied  continent  by  Columbus  was 
not  as  great  as  this  opening  of  territory  on  the 
continent  of  Asia  which  has  taken  place  and 
is  now  going  on  in  your  day.  Who  are  to  be 
-the  colonists  to  make  the  New  Englands  and 
Virginias  in  this  region  of  the  intellect  and 
soul?  You  my  reader,  for  you  are  here  to 
make  your  best  impression  on  the  world  in 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  245 


the  short  space  of  time  allotted.  God  grant 
that  you  make  it  on  Asia;  it  is  the  greatest 
field  open  and  Korea  is  one  of  the  keys  thereto. 
She  is  in  touch  with  both  Japan  and  China. 
She  leads  Japan’s  life  and  she  thinks  China’s 
thoughts.  She  writes  and  reads  a language 
known  to  both. 

Another  cause  that  leads  her  into  this  wider 
way  of  service  is  the  fact  that  Korea’s  old 
narrow  partitions  are  broken  down,  and  home 
is  anywhere,  wide  as  the  horizon.  But  the 
political  situation  is  such  that  she  cannot  go 
abroad,  only  to  China  and  Japan.  Other 
doors  are  closed  and  she  is  not  allowed  free 
exit.  This  too  is  a part  of  the  great  plan,  and 
contributes  to  the  end  in  view. 

Two  weeks  ago  the  writer  heard  for  the 
first  time  in  twenty  years’  experience  the 
sound  of  a Chinese  voice  from  the  pulpit  of 
his  church.  Mr.  S.  K.  Tsao,  of  Shanghai, 
addressing  a thousand  Koreans  or  more  said: 
“My  heart  rejoices  when  I see  the  work  of 
God  in  this  land.  A great  field  lies  before  you, 
not  only  in  your  own  country  but  in  China. 
I expect  the  day  to  come  when  you  will  send 
missionaries  to  my  land  and  help  evangelize 
it.”  It  was  a Macedonian  call  of  the  present 


Providential 
Lines  of  Destiny 


A Voice  from 
China 


246 


Korea  in  Transition 


Vision  of  The 
East 


The  Cry  of  Its 
Needs 


day.  The  whole  East  is  calling,  and  if  your 
heart  be  but  turned  by  prayer  and  earnest 
inquiry  into  God’s  Word  for  his  thoughts  and 
plans,  you  will  catch  the  vibrations  that  quiver 
through  the  ether  more  persistently  than 
Marconi’s  wireless  signals:  “C,0,M,E; 

H,E,L,P;  U,S” 

Thou,  reader,  come  with  me  till  I show  thee 
the  unevangelized  lands,  the  lands  without 
teachers,  and  in  the  showing  thou  wilt  see  the 
Far  East;  and  it  will  stretch  away,  and  away, 
and  still  away,  wider  than  the  limit  of  thy 
mind  to  measure;  and  it  will  be  peopled  with 
millions  and  millions.  Counting  would  never 
do  it,  for  thou  couldst  never  even  think  them 
all,  so  many  and  so  many. 

What  are  they  doing  in  this  world?  Un- 
consciously they  grope  round  at  this  and  that, 
tramping  the  treadmills  of  the  ages,  following 
worn  ruts  cut  in  the  rocks  and  crumbling 
granite,  mumbling  unintelligible  prayers, 
swearing  worn-out  oaths,  dying  in  the  old 
fearsome  way,  with  tears  and  wailings  and 
agony,  being  buried;  on,  and  on,  and  on, 
millions  upon  millions;  no  churches,  no  hos- 
pitals, no  newspapers,  no  schools,  no  books, 
no  liberty  of  thought,  no  explanation  of  life, 


A Group  of  Korean  Leaders 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  247 

no  solution  to  the  terrors  of  nature  about 
them;  no  confidence  in  the  neighboring  states 
just  over  the  way;  no  message  from  the  under- 
world as  to  whether  it  is  peopled  with  half 
beasts  or  only  devils;  in  terror  as  to  the  acts 
of  sun,  moon,  and  stars ; scared  by  the  sea  with 
its  water-dragons  and  hungry  beasts;  in  fear 
of  the  hills  full  of  disembodied  spirits ; cut  off 
from  hope  for  spirit,  soul,  and  body.  Gaze 
thou  on  them  and  think  and  ponder  well,  hadst 
thou  been  bom  there,  thou  too  wouldst  have 
had  the  vacant  eye,  the  soul  wild  with  weeds, 
the  mind  shrunk,  hopeless;  thou  too  wouldst 
be  foul  of  body,  begrimed  with  dirt ; thou  too 
wouldst  have  had  the  little  hovel  in  which  to 
huddle;  thou  too  wouldst  have  crossed  life’s 
stage  a poor  benighted  heathen,  to  be  laughed 
at,  and  kicked,  and  cuffed,  and  spat  on  by  the 
world  that  thinks  it  sees;  and  in  the  end  thy 
body  might  be  left  unburied  till  it  became  a 
terror  to  all  living  creatures. 

Hadst  thou  two  souls  and  one  so  lost  as 
this,  how  that  twin  soul  of  thine  would  rush 
to  earth’s  most  distant  boundary  to  rescue  and 
save  the  soul  of  thine  that  was  lost.  But 
equally  precious  to  any  half  soul  of  thine  are 
these  multitudes  to  whom  all  the  gateways  of 


Soul  Service  and 
Coming  Glory 


248 


Korea  in  Transition 


The  East  Holds 
the  Question  of 
Questions 


the  world  have  opened ; toward  whom  mighty 
steamers  plow  the  oceans;  across  whose  line 
of  vision  go  long  lines  of  railway  trains; 
into  the  very  citadel  of  whose  ignorance 
now  clicks  the  telegraph ; each  of  them 
signs  and  signals  that  God  is  calling  thee, 
thou  reader.  This  twin  brother  of  thine 
is  in  prison;  leave  thou  thyself  and  thy 
wishes  and  visit  thou  him ; he  is  hungry, 
feed  him ; he  is  thirsty,  give  him  drink.  If  thou 
doest  this  well,  there  will  be  times  of  suffering 
and  sacrifice  for  thee  and  trial  and  self- 
renunciation,  but  thou  wilt  assuredly  see  at  the 
close  thereof  the  most  beautiful  city  that  has 
ever  been  founded;  thou  shalt  be  shown  the 
way  thither  by  the  most  beautiful  guards  of 
honor,  and  on  the  entrance  thou  shalt  hear 
such  a voice  as  thy  ears  have  waited  all  these 
years  to  hear;  and  thou  shalt  see,  in  the  midst 
of  joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory,  many 
dearest  friends  of  thine  from  the  yellow  lands 
of  the  East. 

The  Far  East  is  to  have  its  innings.  The 
time  has  come.  For  masses  of  humanity  she 
leads  the  world,  and  when  the  president  of  all 
the  earth  is  to  be  elected  by  popular  vote,  he 
will  be  a man  of  the  yellow  skin.  She  can  do 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  249 


anything;  once  teach  her  and  she  can  do  all 
that  we  can  do  cheaper  and  easier.  She  is  the 
greatest  question  to-day  in  the  whole  world 
of  thought;  fear  hangs  on  her,  untold  hopes 
center  in  her.  She  can  hate  like  a branded 
fiend;  she  can  love  like  a little  child.  O thou 
East,  what  will  the  end  be?  Truly  out  of  thee 
will  come  great  men  and  good,  and  women 
whose  names  will  last  through  all  ages;  in 
thee  is  infolded  the  solution  of  the  world,  and 
the  end  of  all  its  questions. 

The  writer  was  once  asked,  “Who  is  the 
greatest  man  you  have  ever  met?”  He  pon- 
dered long  over  the  question,  for  he  had  met 
kings,  princes,  nobility,  Western  and  Eastern, 
great  rulers,  writers,  statesmen,  inventors, 
evangelists,  preachers,  teachers;  it  seemed  as 
though  he  had  met  everybody.  Now  who  is 
first  among  all  these?  To  whom  wrould  you 
give  a Nobel  prize  as  the  greatest  man  on 
earth?  It  would  go  to — not  the  king,  nor 
the  millionaire,  nor  the  inventor,  nor  the 
preacher — but  to  one  who  was  an  outcast, 
socially,  intellectually,  morally,  physically,  a 
tramp  of  the  streets,  who  came  into  touch  with 
the  story  of  the  redeemed.  The  sound  of  it, 
in  some  way  I know  not  how,  awakened 


The  Greatest 
Man 


250  Korea  in  Transition 

responses  in  his  soul.  For  him,  could  it  be? 
He,  a lost  gambler,  not  even  of  average  intel- 
lect, branded  with  all  marks  of  sin,  equal  to 
a leper  as  to  his  physique.  As  he  pondered 
and  prayed  and  dreamed  over  these  discovered 
ideals  of  his,  he  was  little  by  little  changed,  the 
old  life  sloughed  off,  and  in  some  miraculous 
way  the  face  became  gentle,  benign,  lighted 
up,  beautiful;  the  old  ways  dropped  off,  and 
in  place  of  self  being  all  in  all,  others  came 
into  being,  lived,  and  flourished.  All  money 
labored  for,  beyond  a little  rice  to  live  by, 
passed  on  its  winged  way  for  others.  Long 
prayers  were  made  over  a few  pieces  of  cash, 
that  their  sendee  might  be  made  sure.  From 
this  castaway  fragment  of  charcoal,  that  had 
been  transformed  into  flashing  diamond, 
radiated  light  in  all  directions.  The  poor  were 
touched  by  it;  ex-ministers  of  state  were  over- 
come by  the  quiet  voice  and  the  heart  of  love, 
this  one,  that  one;  proud  men  were  brought 
down  low  when  they  met  him;  the  humble 
were  lifted  up  and  made  glad.  Ko’s  heart 
enlarged  so  that  he  desired  to  know  all  about 
the  world,  its  knowledge,  its  science.  He 
managed  addition,  subtraction,  multiplication; 
division  cost  him  deep  thought,  but  at  last  he 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  251 

saw  through  its  tricks;  fractions  were  beyond 
him.  “Three  fifths  of  seven  eighths.  That 
beats  me,”  said  he;  “I’ll  give  it  up  till  I get 
more  sense.”  As  his  horizon  extended  and 
other  nations  came  into  the  circle  of  it,  he 
inquired  for  them  and  put  their  names  into  his 
prayers.  By  degrees  his  heart  widened  till  it 
took  in  great  companies  of  people.  Long  after 
he  had  been  a noted  leader  in  Christian  work, 
and  dressed  well  according  to  his  station,  he 
came  on  a home  of  young  men  who  were  too 
poor  to  eat  and  too  proud  to  do  coolie  work. 

“Put  a rack  on  your  back,”  says  Ko,  “and 
you  will  soon  make  enough  to  pay  for  the 
winter’s  pickle.” 

“But  we  are  ashamed,”  said  they;  “we  can’t 
face  the  world  with  a rack  on  the  back.” 

“No?”  said  Ko,  “then  I’ll  get  a rack  too 
and  go  with  you.” 

So  down  the  Main  Street  of  Seoul  went  Ko, 
with  hat  off  and  broad  smile  over  his  face,  a 
rack  on  his  back  to  help  these  young  men  over 
their  fear.  He  made  a silver  dollar  and  gave 
it  to  the  Kims  for  pickle.  He  often  said,  “I 
wonder  why  people  are  so  good  to  me,  these 
high  nobility  too,  and  I a castaway,”  and  the 
tears  would  come. 


25  2 Korea  in  Transition 

Ko  of  The  Vanguard,  the  same  who 
labored  and  sorrowed  and  rejoiced  and  prayed 
with  a whole  world  of  fellow  pilgrims,  even 
the  same  Ko  who  now  sleeps  outside  the 
East  Gate,  would  get  the  Nobel  prize  for 
greatness.  He  would  get  it  because  he  loved 
most  unselfishly  and  patiently  the  greatest 
number  of  people  at  one  and  the  same  time; 
because  he  could  hold  more  of  humanity  in 
his  heart  and  plan  for  them,  think  about  them, 
pray  for  them,  encourage  them,  gladden  them, 
and  call  on  them,  than  any  other  mortal  I 
have  ever  known.  The  greatest  heart  I ever 
knew — Ko  Chan-ik.  Thou,  reader,  be  thou 
likewise. 


SUGGESTIVE  QUESTIONS  ON  CHAPTER  VIII 

Aim  : To  Appreciate  the  Call  of  Korea  in  Tran- 
sition 

I.  The  Future  Prospects. 

1.  On  the  basis  of  the  figures  of  1890,  1900,  and 
the  present,  what  may  we  expect  to  see  in 
Korea  in  1920? 

2.  What  rate  of  future  increase  is  indicated  by 
the  figures  for  1902,  1905,  and  1908? 

3.  In  which  decade  of  missionary  work  should 
we  expect  the  most  rapid  rate  of  increase,  the 
first,  second,  or  third? 


Growth,  Conditions,  Outlook  253 


4. *  Sum  up  the  influences  that  tend  to  increase 

the  rate  of  progress  in  the  evangelization  of 
a non-christian  land  as  time  goes  on. 

5.  Mention  circumstances  that  might  check  this 
rate  of  increase. 

6.  What  is  the  lesson  to  the  Christian  Church 
of  these  possibilities? 

II.  Korea  an  Object-lesson  to  Asia. 

7*  What  would  be  the  special  value  to  the  Far 
East  of  having  an  entire  nation  in  Asia  accept 
Christianity? 

8.  Why  is  Korea  more  likely  than  any  other 
nation  to  become  such  an  object-lesson? 

9.  What  will  be  the  effect  on  the  Far  East  if 
the  Christianity  of  Korea  is  of  only  a super- 
ficial type? 

10. *  What  things  that  Korea  lacks  do  you  think 

she  needs  most  to  fit  her  to  serve  as  an  object- 
lesson  of  Christianity? 

11.  What  lines  of  work  do  you  think  missionaries 
should  especially  emphasize  at  present? 

III.  Korea  an  Object-lesson  to  the  World. 

12.  Contrast  the  opportunities  presented  to  Bible 
class  leaders  in  Korea  and  in  other  lands. 

13.  How  would  it  affect  your  own  locality  if  such 
comity  prevailed  between  Christian  denomina- 
tions as  in  Korea? 

14.  To  what  extent  does  the  argument  for  a united 
Christian  Church  in  Korea  apply  to  Chris- 
tianity in  this  country? 

15. *  Compare  the  present  awakening  of  the  Far 

East  in  its  extent  and  scope  with  the  Renais- 
sance and  the  Reformation. 


254 


Korea  in  Transition 


IV.  The  Present  Appeal. 

16. *  Sum  up  the  call  of  Korea  to-day  in  view  of 

the  needs. 

17. *  Sum  up  the  call  of  Korea  to-day  in  view  of 

the  achievements. 

18. *  Sum  up  the  call  of  Korea  to-day  in  view  of 

the  opportunities. 

19. *  Defend  the  investment  of  $100,000  of  mission- 

ary money  in  some  form  of  work  in  Korea. 

20. *  Present  missionary  service  in  Korea  as  the 

most  profitable  investment  of  a life-work. 

REFERENCES  FOR  FURTHER  STUDY 
CHAPTER  VIII 

I.  The  Outlook. 

Underwood:  The  Call  of  Korea,  pp.  136-150. 
Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea,  ch.  XXXV. 
Supplement  with  denominational  literature  and 
recent  magazine  articles. 


APPENDIXES 


*JS 


APPENDIX  A 


Division  of  Territory,  Population, 
Distribution  of  Missionaries1 


Pro Vince 

Population 

Missionaries 

Responsibility 
for  each 

597,393 

850,635 

491,717 

619,756 

390,055 

582,463 

627,832 

869,020 

1,062,991 

1,270,214 

600,119 

689,017 

901,099 

20 

30.000 

70.000 

70.000 

81.000 

133.000 

25.000 

313.000 

10.000 
81,000 

79.000 

37.000 
18,600 

112,000 

12 

7 

8 

3 

23 

2 

82 

13 

16 

16 

37 

8 

1 Issued  by  the  Financial  Adviser's  Office  and  published  in  The  Christian  Move- 
ment in  Japan,  1907. 


*57 


APPEN 

Statistics  of  Protestant  Missions  in  Korea  Compiled 


© 

3 

Year  of  First  Work  in 
This  Fiold 

FOREIGN  MISSION- 
ARIES, LXCLCDIXG 
PHYSICIANS 

NAME  OF  SOCIETIES 

Yenr  Included  in 
Report 

Ordained  Men 

e 

© 

Z 

"C 

o 

c 

“5 

~rz 

G 

C 

ZJ 

1 

C * 

sl 

Other  Mission- 
ary Women 

American  Societies 

American  Bible  Society 

1907 

1882 

1 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  1 

1908 

1885 

21 

2 

is 

21 

Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  U.  S.  A 

1908 

1884 

30 

1 

37 

10 

Board  of  Missions  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South 

1907-8 

1895 

11 

5 

12 

Executive  Committee  of  Foreign  Missions,  Presbyterian  Church  in  U.  S. 

1905-7 

1896 

9 

4 

9 

4 

Foreign  Department,  Y.  M.  C.  A.  of  North  America 

1909 

1901 

3 

Foreign  Mission  Committee,  Presbyterian  Church,  Canada 

1907 

1898 

6 

4 

4 

Woman’s  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South 

1908-9 

1897 

11 

Total  American  Societies,  8 

81 

12 

80 

50 

British  Societies 

British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 

Foreign  Mission  Committee,  Presbyterian  Church  of  Australia 

1908 

1885 

2 

2 

1908 

1889 

3 

3 

5 

Society  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts 

1907 

1896 

4 

3 

3 

Total  British  Societies,  3 

9 

3 

5 

8 

Grand  Total,  11  Societies 

90 

15 

85 

58 

1 Includes  statistics  of  Woman’s  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 
*797  Churches  entirely  self-supporting. 

* Includes  higher  educational  schools. 


DIX  B 


by  Direct  Correspondence  with  Mission  Boards 


1 

| Native  Workers 

STATIONS 

NATIVE 

CONSTITUENCY 

EDUCATIONAL 

MEDICAL 

Where  Mission- 
aries ReBide 

fe 

11 

11 

II 

OCG 

Communicants 

It 

fa 

J5f 

S 

Sunday  Schools 

Sunday  School 
Scholars 

Day  Schools 

Pupils  in  Same 

Higher 

Institutions 

Students  in 
Same 

Industrial 

Schools 

Students  in 
Same 

Foreign  Men 
Physicians 

Foreign  Women 
Physicians 

Hospitals  or 
Dispensaries 

Patients  During 
Year  Reported 

16 

282 

7 

i9 

24,246 

19,820 

167 

14,417 

144 

4,407 

5 

545 

4 

4 

4 

17,007 

837 

8 

2809 

19,654 

73,844 

798 

61,454 

457 

11,480 

9 

763 

8 

4 

12 

47,664 

72 

4 

3,545 

2,536 

45 

3,049 

3 

82 

1 

225 

i 

5 

3 

2,000 

75 

4 

140 

1,051 

8,410 

22 

1,390 

18 

381 

6 

4 

2 

42 

4 

56 

8M 

194 

45 

3,034 

*17 

305 

1 

1 

1 

300 

10 

3 

4 

150 

l 

20 

2 

1,334 

30 

1,024 

49,310 

104,804 

1,077 

83,344 

643 

16,805 

15 

1,539 

2 

20 

22 

11 

22 

66,971 

85 

30 

2 

385 

3,219 

6 

500 

8 

200 

1 

1 

5 

125 

394 

3,356 

3 

31 

i 

32 

115 

7 

125 

779 

6,575 

6 

500 

11 

231 

l 

32 

1 

1 

1,449 

37 

1,149 

50,089 

111,379 

1,083 

83,844 

654 

17,036 

16 

1,571 

2 

20 

23 

11 

23 

66,971 

359 


APPENDIX  0 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  first  seven  books  mentioned  in  the  list  below 
are  included  in  the  Reference  Library  issued  to 
accompany  this  text-book.  Numbers  eight  to  ten  have 
been  freely  cited  in  the  references  at  the  end  of  the 
chapters.  The  last  five  are  listed  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  are  interested  in  the  present  political  situation. 

Gale:  Korean  Sketches.  1898.  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Co.,  New  York.  Illustrated.  $1.00. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  books  ever  written  on  Korea.  Useful 
for  a person  uninterested  in  missions,  but  who  can  appreciate  clever 
writing.  Some  of  the  characterizations  are  very  acute. 

Gale:  The  Vanguard.  1904  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co., 
New  York.  Illustrated  $1.50,  net 

Perhaps  the  most  successful  missionary  novel  yet  written.  The 
atmosphere  and  phases  of  missionary  life  are  hit  off  in  most  pic- 
turesque style.  A splendid  book  to  interest  the  indifferent. 

Noble:  Ewa,  A Tale  of  Korea.  1906.  Eaton  & Mains, 
New  York.  Illustrated.  $1.25. 

One  of  the  most  thrilling  missionary  stories  written.  The  char- 
acters and  incidents  are  historical,  and  the  spirit  and  traditions  of 
the  people  have  been  faithfully  followed. 

Baird:  Daybreak  in  Korea.  1909.  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Co.,  New  York.  Illustrated.  60  cents,  net 

A tale  of  the  power  of  the  gospel  In  transforming  heathen  bo- 
ciety,  and  especially  the  life  of  women- 

Underwood:  Fifteen  Years  Among  the  Top-Knots. 
Second  Edition,  1908.  American  Tract  Society, 
New  York.  Illustrated.  $1.50. 

260 


Appendix  C 


261 


An  account  of  the  experiences  of  missionary  work  in  Korea,  de- 
scribed in  an  interesting  way.  The  second  edition  contains  three 
additional  chapters  covering  the  most  recent  developments  of 
Korean  missions. 

Hulbert:  The  Passing  of  Korea.  1906.  Doubleday, 
Page  & Co.,  New  York.  Illustrated.  $3.80,  net. 

A reference  book  by  one  who  knows  the  country  thoroughly. 
Chapters  on  recent  history  are  followed  by  general  information  on 
varied  topics.  The  standpoint  is  pro-Korean  and  anti-Japanese. 

Underwood:  The  Call  of  Korea.  1908.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York.  Illustrated.  75  cents,  net. 

An  earnest  appeal  for  Korea,  written  by  one  of  the  pioneer  mis- 
sionaries for  use  as  a text-book.  Brief,  but  full  of  information.  An 
appendix  contains  questions  on  the  chapters  and  references  for 
further  study. 

Gifford:  Every-day  Life  in  Korea.  1898.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York.  Illustrated.  $1.25. 

A plain  and  interesting  account  of  missionary  life  and  work  in 
Korea  up  to  1897.  Most  of  the  statements  about  Korean  charac- 
ter and  principles  of  missionary  method  will  be  valuable  for  a long 
time  to  come. 

Bishop:  Korea  and  Her  Neighbors.  1897.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York.  Illustrated.  $2.00. 

A journal  by  the  well-known  traveler.  The  form  of  the  book  is 
somewhat  diffuse,  but  Mrs.  Bishop’s  style  is  vigorous  and  her  judg- 
ment keen. 

Jones  : Korea : The  Land,  People  and  Customs.  1907. 
Jennings  & Graham,  Cincinnati.  35  cents,  net. 

A booklet  containing  much  condensed  information  and  an  ac- 
count of  the  beginnings  of  the  Methodist  work. 

Allen  : Things  Korean.  1908.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co., 
New  York.  Illustrated.  $1.25,  net. 

Dr.  Allen  was  the  first  resident  Protestant  missionary  in  Korea, 
and  was  for  a long  time  United  States  minister  there.  He  treats 
in  rambling  style  various  matters  observed  during  the  last  twenty- 
five  years. 

McKenzie:  The  Unveiled  East  1907.  E.  P.  Dutton 
& Co.,  New  York.  $3.50,  net. 

A sketch  of  conditions  in  China,  Korea,  and  Japan,  written  from 
the  political  and  commercial  view-point.  The  author  criticise# 
Japan’s  administration  in  Korea 


a 62  Appendix  C 

McKenzie:  The  Tragedy  of  Korea.  1908.  E.  P.  Dut- 
ton & Co.,  New  York.  $2.00,  net 

A severe  arraignment  of  the  Japanese  methods  in  Korea. 

Millard:  The  New  Far  East.  1906.  Charles  Scribner’s 
Sons,  New  York.  $1.50,  net. 

An  examination  into  the  new  position  of  Japan  and  her  influence 
upon  the  solution  of  the  Far  Eastern  question,  with  special  refer- 
ence to  the  interests  of  America  and  the  future  of  the  Chinese 
Empire. 

Millard  : America  and  the  Far  Eastern  Question.  1909. 
Moffat,  Yard  & Co.,  New  York.  $4.00. 

Gives  some  chapters  on  Korea  as  a factor  in  the  present  poli  tica! 
and  commercial  situation.  The  verdict  is  unfavorable  to  the  Japa- 
nese. 

Ladd:  With  Marquis  Ito  in  Korea.  1908.  Charles 
Scribner’s  Sons,  New  York.  Illustrated.  $2.50,  net 

A Japanese  apologetic,  dogmatic  in  tone  and  with  little  sympathy 
for  Korea.  Professor  Ladd  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Japanese  gov 
eminent  during  the  visit  he  describes. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


A 

Ague,  15 

Aden,  Hon.  H.  N.,  M.D., 
163,  175.  180;  quoted, 

160 

American  trolley-cars,  13, 
14 

Analects,  The,  141 
Ancestor  worship,  69-78 
Appenzeller,  Dr.,  163 
Australian  Presbyterian 
work,  238 
Avison,  Dr.,  180 

B 

Baird,  Dr , 203 
Beach,  Dr.,  227 
Bemeux,  Bishop,  161 
Bible,  47,  79,  88,  89,  119, 
120,  140;  illustrated  by 
Korean  customs,  147- 
155;  translation,  138,  175 
Bible  study  classes,  176, 
231-236 

Bishop,  Mrs.  Isabella  Bird, 
69;  quoted,  2,  83,  94,  239, 
240 

Book  of  Changes,  the,  47 
Books  of  History  and.  Poet- 
ry, the,  14 1 

Brown,  Prof.  J.  Macmillan, 
quoted,  216,  219 
Brown,  Sir  John  McL.,  58 
Buddhism,  66,  68,  79-81 
Bunker,  Rev.  and  Mrs.  A. 
D.,  183 


C 

Cable,  E.  M.,  quoted,  226 
Canadian  Presbyterian 
work,  238 

Canon  of  Changes,  The, 
quoted,  87 

Carlyle,  Thomas,  referred 
to,  52,  54 

Cash,  old  coins  formerly 
used,  11,  12 
Chang  Chih-tung,  178 
Changing  conditions,  22-24, 
58,  59,  146,  170 
Chang-yu,  Prince,  9 
China,  but  little  known  in 
1889  to  Korea,  129;  her 
millions  on  the  West,i35; 
uses  a cumbersome  lan- 
guage, i36;voice  from, 245 
“Chinaman,  John,”  40,  41 
Chinese  literature  in  Korea, 
44-46 

Chinese  seeking  light  from 
Korea,  215 
Chinnampo,  190,  236 
“ Chosun,”  4 
Christ,  see  Jesus  Christ 
Comity  among  mission- 
aries, 237 

Confucianism,  62,  72,  78, 
80,  95,  106 

Coolie,  the,  in  transporta- 
tion, 12 ; naming  the  Five 
Virtues,  96 

Crisis,  the  final,  in  Korea, 
38 


265 


266 


Index 


Crowds  and  lack  of  privacy, 
trying  to  missionaries, 
167,  168 

Custom  rules,  100,  101 
Customs  of  Bible  times  and 
lands  prevail,  147,  149— 

Customs,  the,  now  admin- 
istered by  aliens,  58 
Cutler,  Dr.,  18 1 

D 

Death,  heathen  and  Chris- 
• tian  associations,  170, 
17I 

Debt,  universality  of,  109 
Demons,  belief  in,  82—86, 

152. 

Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  The, 
I41  . 

Donations  of  time,  200,  236, 
237 

Dragons,  58,  87;  of  the 
sea,  3 

Dress,  18—20,  113,  149 
E 

Early  marriages,  76 
Edison,  101,  145 
Edmunds,  Dr.,  18 1 
Education,  45~47.  57.  11 7. 
140-146;  former  customs, 
45-47.  141.  142;  new 

methods,  57,  58,  117, 

142—146 

Educational  mission  work, 
143,  181,  182,  238 
Emperor,  the  retired,  34— 
38,  43.  44.  182 
Ernsburger,  Dr.,  181 
Esson  Third,  quoted,  9,  16, 
36,  53,  115 

Evangelistic  work,  1 7 1-1 73 , 
1 9 1— 200,  see  also  Revival 
Exorcists,  85,  86 


F 

“Face”  defined,  52-56 
Fakumen,  Manchuria,  219 
Family,  the,  101-106 
Five  Elements,  96,  98 
Five  Laws,  95,  97 
Five  Virtues,  95,  97 
Food,  lack  of  familiar,  try- 
ing to  missionaries,  167* 
Foreign  visitors  to  Korea, 

131 

Funeral  customs,  70-72 
Fusan,  8,  179 

G 

Geography  and  Atlas  of 
Protestant  Missions,  227 
God,  Korean’s  idea  of,  78. 
79.  ”8 

Goforth,  Rev.,  216,  217 
Grave,  the,  70,  73,  74 

H 

Hague,  The,  38 
Hailuncheng,  Manchuria, 
219 

Hardie,  Dr.,  201 
Hart,  Sir  Robert,  58 
Heated  stone  floor,  sitting 
and  sleeping  on,  trying 
to  missionaries,  166,  167 
Hermit  tendency,  12  7-1 2 9 
Heron,  Dr.,  163,  180 
Hirst,  Dr.,  180 
Historical  sketch,  30 
Homes  lack  privacy,  107 
Hospitals,  179-181 
Hulbert,  Homer  B.,  38; 

quoted,  2,  66 
Hygiene,  112 
Hymns,  176 

I 

Idolatry,  152 
Ito,  Prince,  180,  239 


Index 


Japan,  a dominant  power, 
134;  disliked,  35;  has 
less  freedom  in  her  lan- 


life,  245;  in  1889  known 
only  by  name,  129;  Resi- 
dency-General in  Korea, 


Japanese  currency  in  use, 
12 

Jesus  Christ,  44,  50,  51,  59, 
60,  88,  94,  120,  126,  133, 
*38.  153>  *54.  161,  162, 
172,  173,  205,  216 
Jones,  Dr.  George  Heber, 
quoted,  83,  94,  126,  182, 
198 

K 

Kamok  Prison,  remarkable 
men  converted  in,  1 82-1 84 
Kanghwa,  Island  of,  162 
Keel,  82,  203—220 
Ki,  Viscount,  45 
Kim,  Mr.,  19;  quoted,  6, 
4i,  44.  55 
Kim  Ik-too,  212 
Kim  In,  183,  184 
Kim  Chan-sung,  211 
Kim  Chung-sik,  183,  184 
Ko  Chan-ik,  249-252 
Korea,  a quiet  land,  17; 
area,  4,  132;  divisions,  5; 
general  aspect,  18; 
houses,  18,  19;  location, 
3,  4:  minerals,  10,  11; 
money,  11,  12;  moun- 

tains, 6;  names,  4;  popu- 
lation, 5,  6;  products,  8- 
10;  public  utilities,  146; 
rivers,  7;  roads,  17,  18; 
size,  4,  132;  soil,  7,  8; 
transportation,  12,  146; 
weather,  13-15 


267 


Korean  characteristics,  47, 
53,  no,  hi,  114.  115, 
1 18,  196,  242 

Korean  Christians,  see  Na- 
tive Christians 

Korean  people,  diseases,  15, 
76,  169;  dress,  see  Dress; 
food,  20,  21,  167;  lan- 
guage, see  Language; 
love  of  literature,  44,  45, 
140— 142;  medical  prac- 
tise, 108;  religion,  see 
Religion;  thirst  for  knowl- 
edge, 144,  145;  their 

world  a world  of  fear, 
87,  88,  117 

Korea’s  day  of  reckoning, 
36;  desolation,  32,  56; 
fixed  social  condition,  99; 
hermit  fife,  128,  129;  po- 
sition in  the  East,  134, 


Koryu  dynasty,  cause  of 
fall,  80 

L 

Lacquer,  odor  of,  16 
Language,  21,  22,  136—140; 
mistakes  in  using,  trying 
to  missionaries,  17 1 
Lee,  Mr.,  quoted,  201,  204 
Life  of  Martin  Luther , 174 
Literary  work,  1 73-1 77,  238 
Literature  highly  esteemed 
by  Koreans,  140-142 
Lowell,  Percival,  13,  69 


M 

Manchurian  revival,  215— 
220 

Marriage  and  divorce,  94, 
98,  99,  102-105 
Medical  work,  163,  177— 
181;  great  indirect  serv- 
ice, 178 
Mencius,  14 1 


268 


Index 


Methodist  Episcopal 
Church,  mission  work  of, 
163,  174,  181,  182,  227, 
229-231,  238 
Military,  the,  58 
Min,  Prince,  37,  38,  54 
Mining,  10,  xi,  58,  75 
Misrule,  33,  34 
Missionary,  an  evangel  of 
hope,  55;  hardships,  166- 
1 7 1 ; how  he  meets  ances- 
tral worship,  78;  secrets 
of  success,  1 71-173 
Missions,  agencies  used, 
171-184,  191-194,  197- 
221,  231-252;  Nevius 

plan,  160;  pioneer 
methods,  161—165;  self* 
govemment,  self-propa- 
gation, self-support,  194— 
197;  trials  and  compen- 
sations, 165-171,  182— 

.i85 

Mission  schools,  143 
Mixed  script,  the,  138,  139 
Moffett,  Dr.,  182 
Mokpo,  179 
Money,  11 

Moore,  Rev.  J.  Z.,  quoted, 
19°.  233 

Morrison,  Dr.,  181 
Mountains,  6,  7 
Mukden,  revival  at,  215- 
219 

Murata,  Mr.,  213 

N 

Nai-woi  defined,  48,  49,  52 
Native  Christians,  184,  185, 
191-194,  198-200 
Native  Church,  condition, 
195-198;  growth,  227- 
231;  ideal  for,  194;  oppo- 
sition overcome,  164,  165 
Native  script,  the.  137.  138 


Need  of  leaders,  243,  244 
Nevius,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  160 
Nickel,  the,  as  used  in 
Korea,  11,  12 

Noble,  Dr.  W.  Arthur,  198 

O 

Odors,  national,  16 
Office- seeking,  57 
Ohlinger,  Rev.  F.,  174 
Outlook,  quoted,  13 

P 

Pang,  Pastor  K.  C.,  quoted, 
207 

Patriarchal  authority,  sys- 
tem of,  1 13 

Patriotism,  no  room  for, 
113,  116 

“Peach-red,”  50-52 
Phillips,  Dr.,  quoted,  218 
Pickle,  Korean,  odor  of,  16, 

17 

Pilgrim's  Progress,  174,  183 
Ping  yang,  7, 181, 182, 201, 
210,  221,  228,  238,  239, 
240 

Population,  5 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the 
U.  S.  A.,  mission  work 
of,  161,  163,  164,  180- 
182,  184,  228,  238 
Press,  the,  see  Literary 
work 

Primer,  The,  14 1 
Products,  8-1 1 

R 

Rainfall,  13,  14 
Religion,  35,  67—69 
Reverence  for  parents,  75 
Revival,  the  great,  201- 
221;  zeal  of  native  Chris- 
tians for,  234—237 
Reynolds,  Dr.  W.  D..  214 


Index 


269 


Rice,  8 
Rivers,  7 

Rockhill,  Hon.  W.  W.,  9 
Roman  Catholics,  161,  164 
Ross,  John,  161 
Russia’s  power  in  the  East, 

■3S  s 

Sacrifice  for  sin,  148;  for 
the  dead,  72,  73 
Sakyamuni,  81 
Salutations,  136,  147 
Sam  Guk  Sa,  the,  quoted, 
x78 

Samuels,  Miss,  233 
"School-man”  defined,  46 
Scranton,  Dr.,  163 
Seoul,  5, 13,  14,  37, 80, 130, 
131,  160,  164,  179,  181, 
184,  200,  214,  251 
Seoul  Press,  quoted,  109, 
no,  118 

Severance  Hospital,  180 
Shamanism,  see  Demons 
Sharrocks,  Dr.,  quoted,  195 
Shin,  Mrs.,  31,  32,  29 
Sickness  and  death,  their 
pagan  associations  trying 
to  missionaries,  169-171 
Sickness  caused  by  evil 
spirits,  153 

Smallpox  patient  at  a meet- 
ing, 169,  170 
Smoking,  9,  10 
Social  upheaval,  causes  of, 
119 

Society  becoming  conscious, 
”3 

Song  chin,  1 79 
Soul,  belief  concerning,  72, 
73 

Spirits  of  the  dead,  84,  8^ 
Spirit  worship,  66,  82-88 
Subscriptions  of  time,  200, 
236.  237 


Superstition,  68,  178 
Sven  chun,  179,  195,  228, 
* 233 

T 

Taoism,  68,  81,  82 
Taxation,  56 

Taylor,  Hudson,  quoted. 

Theological  schools,  181, 
182 

Thousand  Character 
Classic,  the,  14 1 
Tobacco,  9,  10 
Tong-mong  Son-seup,  the, 

141 

Tract  Society,  174 
Tracts,  Mr.  Moody’s,  183 
Tokgabi,  68,  86 
Treaties  with  Japan,  37,  38 
Tsao,  Mr.  S.  K.,  quoted, 
245 

Tumen  River,  7,  8,  191 

U 

Underwood,  Dr.  H.  G.,  161, 
163;  quoted,  2,  13,  160 

V 

Vanguard,  The,  252 
Verbeck,  Dr.  Guido  F.,  40, 
42 

Vermin,  trying  to  mission- 
aries, 168,  169 

W 

War,  the  great,  130 
Woman,  emancipation.  48, 
49,  105;  extinction 
through  ancestral  wor- 
ship, 77 ; her  only  hope, 
50;  medical  work  for,  180, 

1 81:  new  perils,  49;  social 
status,  104-106,  181 
Wonderful,  T.  J.,  56 


270 


Index 


Y 

Yalu  River,  7,  8 
Yee,  Madam,  52 
Yellow  Hell,  77 
Yi  and  the  mummy,  112 
Yi  Chang-jik,  214 
Yi-king,  the,  14 1 
Yi  Sang-jai,  128,  183,  184 
Yi  Seung-man,  183,  184 


Yi  Won-gung,  183,  184 
Yi  Wung-geung,  quoted,  95 
Yo-sun,  34 

Young  Men’s  Christian  As- 
sociation, 128.  184,  238, 
239,  242 

Yun,  Hon.  T.  H.,  quoted, 
119,  239 

Yu  Song-jun,  183,  184 


iorgonia 


I ^ VV. 


From  Latest  Official  Sources. 


Copyright  1909,  by 

Young  Peoples  Missionary  Movement 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada*. 


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C.  8.  HAMMOND  A CO.,  K. 


ch\ 

H\8S 

r\><s 

Forward  Mission  Study  Courses 


“ Anywhere,  provided  it  be  forward.” — David  Living- 
stone.” 


Prepared  under  the  direction  of  the 
YOUNG  PEOPLE’S  MISSIONARY  MOVEMENT 

OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  AND  CANADA 

Editorial  Committee:  T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  Chairman, 
A.  E.  Armstrong,  T.  B.  Ray,  H.  B.  Grose,  S.  Earl  Tay- 
lor, J.  E.  McAfee,  C.  R.  Watson,  John  W.  Wood,  L.  B. 
Wolf. 


The  forward  mission  study  courses  are  an  outgrowth  of 
a conference  of  leaders  in  young  people’s  mission  work, 
held  in  New  York  City,  December,  1901.  To  meet  the 
need  that  was  manifested  at  that  conference  for  mission 
study  text-books  suitable  for  young  people,  two  of  the 
delegates,  Professor  Amos  R.  Wells,  of  the  United  Society 
of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  Mr.  S.  Earl  Taylor,  Chairman 
of  the  General  Missionary  Committee  of  the  Epworth 
League,  projected  the  Forward  Mission  Study  Courses. 
These  courses  have  been  officially  adopted  by  the  Young 
People’s  Missionary  Movement,  and  are  now  under  the 
immediate  direction  of  the  Editorial  Committee  of  the 
Movement.  The  books  of  the  Movement  are  now  being 
use!  by  more  than  forty  home  and  foreign  mission  boards 
and  oocieties  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

The  aim  is  to  publish  a series  of  text-books  covering 
the  various  home  and  foreign  mission  fields  and  written 


by  leading  authorities.  The  entire  series  when  completed 
will  comprise  perhaps  as  many  as  forty  text-books. 

The  following  text-books  having  a sale  of  nearly 
600,000  have  been  published: 

1.  The  Price  of  Africa.  (Biographical.)  By  S.  Earl 
Taylor. 

2.  Into  All  the  World.  A general  survey  of  missions. 

By  Amos  R.  Wells. 

3.  Princely  Men  in  the  Heavenly  Kingdom.  (Bio- 
graphical.) By  Harlan  P.  Beach. 

4.  Sunrise  in  the  Sunrise  Kingdom.  A 6tudy  of 
Japan.  By  John  H.  De  Forest. 

5.  Heroes  of  the  Cross  in  America.  Home  Missions. 
(Biographical.)  By  Don  O.  Shelton. 

6.  Daybreak  in  the  Dark  Continent.  A study  of  Af- 
rica. By  Wilson  S.  Naylor. 

7.  The  Christian  Conquest  of  India.  A study  of 
India.  By  James  M.  Thobum. 

8.  Aliens  or  Americans?  A study  of  Immigration. 
By  Howard  B.  Grose. 

9.  The  Uplift  of  China.  A study  of  China.  By 

Arthur  H.  Smith. 

10.  The  Challenge  of  the  City.  A study  of  the  City. 

By  Josiah  Strong. 

11.  The  Why  and  How  -f  Foreign  Missions.  A 
study  of  the  relation  of  the  home  Church  to  the  foreign 
missionary  enterprise.  By  Arthur  J.  Brown. 

12.  The  Moslem  W rid.  A study  of  the  Moham- 
medan World.  By  Samuel  M.  Zwemer. 

13.  The  Frontier.  A study  of  the  New  West.  By 
Ward  Platt. 

14.  South  America : Its  Missionary  Problems.  A 
study  of  South  America.  By  Thomas  B.  Neely. 

15.  The  Upward  Path : The  Evolution  of  a Race.  A 
study  of  the  Negro.  By  Mary  Helm. 

16.  Korea  in  Transition.  A study  of  Korea.  By 
James  S.  Gale- 


In  addition  to  these  courses,  the  following  have  been 
published  especially  for  use  among  younger  persons: 

1.  Uganda’s  White  Man  of  Work.  The  story  of  Alex 
ander  Mackay  of  Africa.  By  Sophia  Lyon  Fahs. 

2.  Servants  of  the  King.  A series  of  eleven  sketches 
of  famous  home  and  foreign  missionaries.  By  Robert  E. 
Speer. 

3.  Under  Marching  Orders.  The  Story  of  Mary  Por- 
ter Gamewell  cf  China.  By  Ethel  Daniels  Hubbard. 

These  books  are  published  by  mutual  arrangement 
among  the  home  and  foreign  mission  boards,  to  whom 
all  orders  should  be  addressed.  They  are  bound  uni- 
formly and  are  sold  at  50  cents,  in  cloth,  and  35  cents, 
in  paper;  postage,  8 cents  extra. 


John  M.  Cathcart. 

Zogan,  Utah. 


